A review of reverse osmosis membrane fouling and control strategies
File(s)
Accepted version
Author(s)
Ladewig, BP
Jiang, S
Li, Y
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
Reverse osmosis (RO) membrane technology is one of the most important technologies for water treatment. However, membrane fouling is an inevitable issue. Membrane fouling leads to higher operating pressure, flux decline, frequent chemical cleaning and shorter membrane life. This paper reviews membrane fouling types and fouling control strategies, with a focus on the latest developments. The fundamentals of fouling are discussed in detail, including biofouling, organic fouling, inorganic scaling and colloidal fouling. Furthermore, fouling mitigation technologies are also discussed comprehensively. Pretreatment is widely used in practice to reduce the burden for the following RO operation while real time monitoring of RO has the advantage and potential of providing support for effective and efficient cleaning. Surface modification could slow down membrane fouling by changing surface properties such as surface smoothness and hydrophilicity, while novel membrane materials and synthesis processes build a promising future for the next generation of RO membranes with big advancements in fouling resistance. Especially in this review paper, statistical analysis is conducted where appropriate to reveal the research interests in RO fouling and control.
Date Issued
2017-04-08
Date Acceptance
2017-03-25
Citation
Science of the Total Environment, 2017, 595, pp.567-583
ISSN
0048-9697
Publisher
Elsevier
Start Page
567
End Page
583
Journal / Book Title
Science of the Total Environment
Volume
595
Copyright Statement
© 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. This manuscript is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
Subjects
Antifouling
Membrane fouling
Pretreatment
Reverse osmosis
Surface modification
Environmental Sciences
MD Multidisciplinary
Publication Status
Published