Nanofiltration of surface waters has been successfully implemented at large scale
facilities to improve drinking water quality. However, fouling remains one of
the most important issues in membranes technologies as, on a long-term, it usually
causes loss of performances. Biofouling consists of the accumulation of
microorganisms and their secretions at the membrane surface. It remains one of the
most difficult types of fouling to handle. Once it has appeared, curative treatment of
biofouling consists in cleaning the membrane, using appropriate biocides, or
combination of both. However, the best way to cope with biofouling remains to
minimize its development, and therefore to choose an adequate pretreatment of waters
before membrane filtration.
Predicting biofouling potential of pretreated waters is uncertain by common fouling
potential measurements such as Silt Density Index, or even by feed water quality
analyses. The more accurate mean to conclude biofouling potential is to foul
membranes, and then, proceed to an autopsy, in which biomass and organic content of
the membrane deposit are quantified. In this work, in addition to bacterial
enumeration and carbon dosage of the material colonizing the membranes, an original
procedure was used to assess the bacterial deposit at the membrane surface which
consists of measuring a potential enzymatic activity of the bacterial biomass. Includes 8 references, tables, figures.
| Edition : | Vol. - No. |
| File Size : | 1
file
, 330 KB |
| Note : | This product is unavailable in Ukraine, Russia, Belarus |
| Number of Pages : | 10 |
| Published : | 11/01/2005 |
