Algal blooms: an emerging threat to seawater reverse osmosis desalination

Seawater reverse osmosis (SWRO) desalination technology has been rapidly growing in terms of installed capacity and global application over the last decade. An emerging threat to SWRO application is the seasonal proliferation of microscopic algae in seawater known as algal blooms. Such blooms have c...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Desalination and water treatment 2015-09, Vol.55 (10), p.2601-2611
Main Authors: Villacorte, L.O., Tabatabai, S.A.A., Dhakal, N., Amy, G., Schippers, J.C., Kennedy, M.D.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Algae
Algal blooms
Chemical analysis
Desalination
Desalination plants
Eutrophication
Marine
Membrane fouling
Osmosis
Pre-treatment
Reverse osmosis
Seawater
Seawater reverse osmosis
Water analysis
Water treatment
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Summary:Seawater reverse osmosis (SWRO) desalination technology has been rapidly growing in terms of installed capacity and global application over the last decade. An emerging threat to SWRO application is the seasonal proliferation of microscopic algae in seawater known as algal blooms. Such blooms have caused operational problems in SWRO plants due to clogging and poor effluent quality of the pre-treatment system which eventually forced the shutdown of various desalination plants to avoid irreversible fouling of downstream SWRO membranes. This article summarizes the current state of SWRO technology and the emerging threat of algal blooms to its application. It also highlights the importance of studying the algal bloom phenomena in the perspective of seawater desalination, so proper mitigation and preventive strategies can be developed in the near future.
ISSN:1944-3986
1944-3994
1944-3986
DOI:10.1080/19443994.2014.940649