Algal blooms: an emerging threat to seawater reverse osmosis desalination
Type
ArticleAuthors
Villacorte, Loreen O.Tabatabai, S. Assiyeh Alizadeh

Dhakal, N.
Amy, Gary L.
Schippers, Jan Cornelis
Kennedy, Maria Dolores
KAUST Department
Biological and Environmental Sciences and Engineering (BESE) DivisionEnvironmental Science and Engineering Program
Water Desalination and Reuse Research Center (WDRC)
Date
2014-08-04Online Publication Date
2014-08-04Print Publication Date
2015-09-04Permanent link to this record
http://hdl.handle.net/10754/566070
Metadata
Show full item recordAbstract
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. © 2014 © 2014 Balaban Desalination Publications. All rights reserved.Citation
Villacorte, L. O., Tabatabai, S. A. A., Dhakal, N., Amy, G., Schippers, J. C., & Kennedy, M. D. (2014). Algal blooms: an emerging threat to seawater reverse osmosis desalination. Desalination and Water Treatment, 55(10), 2601–2611. doi:10.1080/19443994.2014.940649Publisher
Informa UK LimitedJournal
Desalination and Water Treatmentae974a485f413a2113503eed53cd6c53
10.1080/19443994.2014.940649