Periodic chemical cleaning with urea: disintegration of biofilms and reduction of key biofilm-forming bacteria from reverse osmosis membranes.

ABSTRACT: Biofouling is one of the major factors causing decline in membrane performance in reverse osmosis (RO) plants, and perhaps the biggest hurdle of membrane technology. Chemical cleaning is periodically carried out at RO membrane installations aiming to restore membrane performance. Typical cleaning agents used in the water treatment industry include sodium hydroxide (NaOH) and hydrochloric acid (HCl) in sequence. Rapid biofilm regrowth and related membrane performance decline after conventional chemical cleaning is a routinely observed phenomenon due to the inefficient removal of biomass from membrane modules. Since extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) make up the strongest and predominant structural framework of biofilms, disintegration of the EPS matrix should be the main target for en

SUBMITTER: Sanawar H 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8456046 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature