Biofouling in reverse osmosis water reclamation and desalination

• Main Author: Stanislaus Raditya Suwarno
• Other Authors: Anthony Gordon Fane
• Format: Theses and Dissertations
• Language: English
• Published: 2014
• Subjects: DRNTU::Engineering::Environmental engineering::Water treatment
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10356/55433
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

Fresh water is essential for basic daily activities. However, the world is now facing a water scarcity problem – depletion of fresh water sources (groundwater and surface water) due to unbalanced water demand and supply. Water desalination by reverse osmosis (RO) technology provides a solution to the water shortage problem. However, the success of RO technology is challenged by biofouling – a phenomena related to biological material development which forms a sticky layer on the membrane surface. The main objective of this research study was to add to the understanding of the biofouling phenomenon in RO membrane processes and to evaluate suitable control strategies. The results of this study show the importance of feed channel spacers in the RO spiral wound module, and the significant contribution of feed nutrients to the development of biofilms. Additionally, a novel control method using ultraviolet (UV) as pre-treatment was tested, and a non-invasive method for online RO biofouling monitoring using ultrasound time-domain reflectrometry (UTDR) was developed.