Relationship between Reverse Osmosis Membrane Fouling and Pretreatment in the Khenifra City Plant in Morocco

Abstract

Reverse osmosis (RO) is considered the most important and optimized membrane desalination process currently dominating the desalination market to help meet the growing need for water, especially in water-stressed countries. The major problem associated with RO is membrane fouling which is frequently related to the interaction between the feed water quality and the pretreatment process. This article deals with the problem of reverse osmosis membrane clogging at the Khenifra plant. This problem was coupled with the increase in operating pressure, pressure drop and permeate conductivity. To identify the causes of these problems, different investigations are being done. A membrane autopsy, chemical analyses of the feed water and monitoring of the operating parameters are performed. The autopsy of the membrane was performed by SEM/EDS(Scanning Electron Microscopy /energy-dispersive spectrometer).The results show that the film is mainly composed of: CaCO₃ (38.70 %), Al₂O₃ (17.42 %), Ba (SO₄)₂ (15.23 %), MgCl₂ (15.02 %) and SiO₂ (13.64 %).