Experimental methods for membrane applications: In desalination and water treatment

Abstract

Water quality is a critical issue for the water industry today, and membrane fi ltration a highly effective treatment used to provide clean water for the global population. Experimental processes and methods are being developed for assessing fouling, scaling, performance and modelling of membrane systems, and research is needed to further improve the sustainability and feasibility of these technologies, and to mitigate the challenges of water scarcity for billions of people, particularly in developing countries. This book aims to address this vital issue by bringing together experts in the fi eld to share their learning, including: • Membrane processes: microfi ltration (MF), ultrafi ltration (UF), reverse osmosis (RO), forward osmosis (FO) and membrane distillation (MD) • Particulate fouling: silt density index (SDI), modifi ed fouling index (MFI-0.45 and MFI-UF) • Inorganic fouling and scaling: assessment, characterization tools and mitigation • Organic fouling: size exclusion chromatography (LC-OCD), fluorescence spectroscopy (FEEM) and transparent exopolymer particles (TEP) • Biological fouling: genomic tools, bacterial growth potential (BGP) of seawater and low-nutrient water and optical coherence tomography (OCT) • General applications: membrane autopsy and computational fluid dynamics (CFD) modelling.