Grant: Idea to Innovation

Membrane-based treatment processes are increasingly being used for the production of drinking water from surface and ground water sources. Membrane fouling is a key performance limiting factor of membrane-based drinking water treatment operations. Membrane fouling by natural organic matters (NOM) and colloidal/particulate matter can occur due to (i) accumulation of retained foulants at the upstream surface of the membrane, (ii) pore blockage by solute adsorbed on the membrane surface or within pores and (iii) formation of a cake layer on the membrane surface, which represent resistance to flow in addition to the membrane resistance. The proposed technology consists of a novel fluorescence-based system that will be able to forecast different fouling dynamics in membranes filtration processes used for drinking water treatment operations and based on these forecasts, will be able to achieve the following objectives: 1.Forecast both reversible and irreversible membrane fouling with good accuracy based solely on fluorescence data obtained at the beginning of the filtration process. 2.Identify high fouling situations well in advance so that suitable control actions could be implemented so as to ensure maximum levels of drinking water production with minimum energy consumption. 3.Minimize the number of chemical cleaning events so as the life span of the membrane is extended while maintaining good water production levels. 4.Optimize membrane back-washing times to achieve minimum energy consumption and maximize the production of drinking water.