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Autopsy of Used Reverse Osmosis Membranes from the Largest Seawater Desalination Plant in Oman.

ABSTRACT: The Barka desalination plant, commissioned in 2018, is the largest desalination plant in Oman. It has a capacity of 281 MLD with a reverse osmosis (RO) first-pass recovery rate of 46%. As part of the standard operator practice, a membrane autopsy was conducted to determine the cause of reductions in membrane performance. This study investigated fouled membranes (model No. SW30HRLE-440) from two different locations in the membrane rack. Various analytical methods were used to conduct the membrane autopsy. Field-emission scanning electron microscopy/energy-dispersive X-ray (FESEM/EDS) analyses of membrane samples showed major components of inorganic foulants. Moreover, black and salt-like crystals deposited on the membrane surface revealed significant carbon (C) components and oxygen (O), with a small amount of magnesium (Mg), chloride (Cl), sodium (Na), aluminium (Al), and calcium (Ca), respectively. A Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) analysis revealed the presence of long-chain hydrocarbons, carboxylic acids/esters, carbohydrates/polysaccharides, and inorganic foulants. Thermogravimetric analyses (TGA) of the membranes showed a high initial weight loss due to organic and inorganic fouling. X-ray photoelectron (XPS) analyses further confirmed the presence of inorganic and organic foulants on the membrane surfaces. Bacteria identification results showed the presence of Bacillus cereus and Bacillus marisflavi. This paper offers a detailed analysis of the foulants present on the reverse osmosis membrane surface and sub-surface before and after a cleaning process.

SUBMITTER: Al-Abri M

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9322904 | biostudies-literature |

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Project description:Microbiomes of full-scale seawater reverse osmosis membranes are complex and subject to variation within and between membrane units. The pre-existing bacterial communities of unused membranes before operation have been largely ignored in biofouling studies. This study is novel as unused membranes were used as a critical benchmark for comparison. Fouled seawater reverse osmosis membrane biofilm communities from an array of autopsied membrane samples, following a 7-year operational life-span in a full-scale desalination plant in Western Australia, were characterised by 16S rRNA gene metabarcoding using the bacterial primers 515F and 806R. Communities were then compared based on fouling severity and sampling location. Microbiomes of proteobacterial predominance were detected on control unused membranes. However, fouled membrane communities differed significantly from those on unused membranes, reflecting that operational conditions select specific bacteria on the membrane surface. On fouled membranes, Proteobacteria were also predominant but families differed from those on unused membranes, followed by Bacteriodetes and Firmicutes. Betaproteobacteria correlated with stable, mature and thick biofilms such as those in severely fouled membranes or samples from the feed end of the membrane unit, while Alpha and Gammaproteobacteria were predominantly found in biofilms on fouled but visually clean, and moderately fouled samples or those from reject ends of membrane units. Gammaproteobacteria predominated the thin, compact biofilms at the mid-feed end of membrane units. The study also supported the importance of Caulobacterales and glycosphingolipid-producing bacteria, namely Sphingomonadales, Rhizobiales and Sphingobacteriia, in primary attachment and biofilm recalcitrance. Nitrate-and-nitrite-reducing bacteria such as Rhizobiales, Burkholderiales and some Pseudomonadales were also prevalent across all fouled membranes and appeared to be critical for ecological balance and biofilm maturation.

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Autopsy of Used Reverse Osmosis Membranes from the Largest Seawater Desalination Plant in Oman.

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