Organic foulants in estuarine and bay sources for seawater reverse osmosis— Comparing pre-treatment processes with respect to foulant reductions

Membrane fouling in sea water RO systems is a major operational problem. Not much is known about the role of natural organic matter in fouling of RO membranes. This study tries to characterize NOM for estuarine water and seawater sources, to present NOM analytical signatures of seawater from four different facilities at various locations, and to evaluate the effectiveness of pre-reatment in NOM removal. Focusing on organic (NOM) fouling, the analytical tools that have used in this research include: (i) liquid chromatography with on-line dissolved organic carbon detection (LC-OCD) and (ii) fl uorescence excitation-emission matrix (F-EEM). Results showed in the case of seawater that humic substances represent ∼50%, biopolymers ∼10%, and building blocks and neutrals the remaining 40% of the DOC. In case of estuarine water, humic substances are ∼65%, biopolymers ∼10%, and building blocks and neutrals the remaining 25%. The evaluation of pre-treatment effi ciencies revealed for the site A (seawater) that, DMF ...