Library
local_library Home Repository

Monitoring biofouling potential using ATP-based bacterial growth potential in SWRO pre-treatment of a full-scale plant

Journal Article (2020)
Author(s)

A.M.J. Abushaban (TU Delft - Sanitary Engineering, IHE Delft Institute for Water Education)

Sergio G. Salinas-Rodriguez (IHE Delft Institute for Water Education)

Moses Kapala (IHE Delft Institute for Water Education)

Delia Pastorelli (SUEZ RandD Center)

Jan C. Schippers (IHE Delft Institute for Water Education)

Subhanjan Mondal (Promega Corporation)

Said Goueli (Promega Corporation)

Maria D. Kennedy (TU Delft - Sanitary Engineering, IHE Delft Institute for Water Education)

Research Group
Sanitary Engineering
DOI related publication
https://doi.org/10.3390/membranes10110360
More Info
expand_more
Publication Year
2020
Language
English
Research Group
Sanitary Engineering
Issue number
11
Volume number
10
Pages (from-to)
1-15
Reuse Rights

Other than for strictly personal use, it is not permitted to download, forward or distribute the text or part of it, without the consent of the author(s) and/or copyright holder(s), unless the work is under an open content license such as Creative Commons.

Abstract

Several potential growth methods have been developed to monitor biological/organic fouling potential in seawater reverse osmosis (SWRO), but to date the correlation between these methods and biofouling of SWRO has not been demonstrated. In this research, the relation between a new adenosine triphosphate (ATP)-based bacterial growth potential (BGP) test of SWRO feed water and SWRO membrane performance is investigated. For this purpose, the pre-treatment of a full-scale SWRO plant including dissolved air flotation (DAF) and two stage dual media filtration (DMF) was monitored for 5 months using BGP, orthophosphate, organic fractions by liquid chromatography coupled with organic carbon detection (LC-OCD), silt density index (SDI), and modified fouling index (MFI). Results showed that particulate fouling potential was well controlled through the SWRO pre-treatment as the measured SDI and MFI in the SWRO feed water were below the recommended values. DAF in combination with coagulation (1–5 mg-Fe3+/L) consistently achieved 70% removal of orthophosphate, 50% removal of BGP, 25% removal of biopolymers, and 10% removal of humic substances. Higher BGP (100–950 µg-C/L) in the SWRO feed water corresponded to a higher normalized pressure drop in the SWRO, suggesting the applicability of using BGP as a biofouling indicator in SWRO systems. However, to validate this conclusion, more SWRO plants with different pre-treatment systems need to be monitored for longer periods of time.