Publication Date:
2022-05-25
Description:
Author Posting. © The Author(s), 2015. This is the author's version of the work. It is posted here by permission of Elsevier for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Desalination 360 (2015): 61-80, doi:10.1016/j.desal.2015.01.007.
Description:
This article reviews the occurrence of HABs in seawater, their effects on the operation of seawater
reverse osmosis (SWRO) plants, the indicators for quantifying/predicting these effects, and the
pretreatment strategies for mitigating operational issues during algal blooms. The potential issues in
SWRO plants during HABs are particulate/organic fouling of pretreatment systems and biological
fouling of RO membranes, mainly due to accumulation of algal organic matter (AOM). The presence
of HAB toxins in desalinated water is also a potential concern but only at very low concentrations.
Monitoring algal cell density, AOM concentrations and membrane fouling indices is a promising
approach to assess the quality of SWRO feedwater and performance of the pretreatment system.
When geological condition is favourable, subsurface intake can be a robust pretreatment for SWRO
during HABs. Existing SWRO plants with open intake and are fitted with granular media filtration can
improve performance in terms of capacity and product water quality, if preceded by dissolved air
flotation or sedimentation. However, the application of advanced pretreatment using ultrafiltration
membrane with in‐line coagulation is often a better option as it is capable of maintaining stable
operation and better RO feed water quality during algal bloom periods with significantly lower
chemical consumption.
Description:
This study was conducted with the financial support of UNESCO‐IHE Institute for Water Education,
Wetsus Centre of Excellence for Sustainable Water Technology and Water Desalination and Reuse
Center (KAUST, Saudi Arabia). Support for D. M. Anderson was provided through the Woods Hole
Center for Oceans and Human Health, National Science Foundation Grant OCE‐1314642 and National
Institute of Environmental Health Sciences Grant 1‐P01‐ES021923‐01.
Keywords:
Seawater reverse osmosis (SWRO)
;
Harmful algal blooms (HAB)
;
Pretreatment
;
Coagulation
;
Ultrafiltration (UF)
;
Subsurface intake
Repository Name:
Woods Hole Open Access Server
Type:
Preprint
Format:
application/pdf
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