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Volume 12
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10.3390/membranes12070671
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Article

Autopsy of Used Reverse Osmosis Membranes from the Largest Seawater Desalination Plant in Oman

by
Mohammed Al-Abri
1,2,*,
Htet Htet Kyaw
1,
Buthayna Al-Ghafri
1,
Myo Tay Zar Myint
3 and
Sergey Dobretsov
4,5
1
Nanotechnology Research Center, Sultan Qaboos University, P.O. Box 33, Al-Khoudh, Muscat 123, Oman
2
Department of Petroleum and Chemical Engineering, College of Engineering, Sultan Qaboos University, P.O. Box 33, Al-Khoudh, Muscat 123, Oman
3
Department of Physics, College of Science, Sultan Qaboos University, P.O. Box 36, Al-Khoudh, Muscat 123, Oman
4
Department of Marine Science and Fisheries, College of Agricultural & Marine Sciences, Sultan Qaboos University, P.O. Box 34, Al-Khoudh, Muscat 123, Oman
5
Center of Excellence in Marine Biotechnology, Sultan Qaboos University, P.O. Box 50, Al-Khoudh, Muscat 123, Oman
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Membranes 2022, 12(7), 671; https://doi.org/10.3390/membranes12070671
Submission received: 29 May 2022 / Revised: 20 June 2022 / Accepted: 24 June 2022 / Published: 28 June 2022
(This article belongs to the Section Membrane Analysis and Characterization)
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Abstract

The Barka desalination plant, commissioned in 2018, is the largest desalination plant in Oman. It has a capacity of 281 MLD with a reverse osmosis (RO) first-pass recovery rate of 46%. As part of the standard operator practice, a membrane autopsy was conducted to determine the cause of reductions in membrane performance. This study investigated fouled membranes (model No. SW30HRLE-440) from two different locations in the membrane rack. Various analytical methods were used to conduct the membrane autopsy. Field-emission scanning electron microscopy/energy-dispersive X-ray (FESEM/EDS) analyses of membrane samples showed major components of inorganic foulants. Moreover, black and salt-like crystals deposited on the membrane surface revealed significant carbon (C) components and oxygen (O), with a small amount of magnesium (Mg), chloride (Cl), sodium (Na), aluminium (Al), and calcium (Ca), respectively. A Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) analysis revealed the presence of long-chain hydrocarbons, carboxylic acids/esters, carbohydrates/polysaccharides, and inorganic foulants. Thermogravimetric analyses (TGA) of the membranes showed a high initial weight loss due to organic and inorganic fouling. X-ray photoelectron (XPS) analyses further confirmed the presence of inorganic and organic foulants on the membrane surfaces. Bacteria identification results showed the presence of Bacillus cereus and Bacillus marisflavi. This paper offers a detailed analysis of the foulants present on the reverse osmosis membrane surface and sub-surface before and after a cleaning process.
Keywords: seawater reverse osmosis membrane; desalination plant; fouling; scaling; bacteria; autopsy seawater reverse osmosis membrane; desalination plant; fouling; scaling; bacteria; autopsy

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MDPI and ACS Style

Al-Abri, M.; Kyaw, H.H.; Al-Ghafri, B.; Myint, M.T.Z.; Dobretsov, S. Autopsy of Used Reverse Osmosis Membranes from the Largest Seawater Desalination Plant in Oman. Membranes 2022, 12, 671. https://doi.org/10.3390/membranes12070671

AMA Style

Al-Abri M, Kyaw HH, Al-Ghafri B, Myint MTZ, Dobretsov S. Autopsy of Used Reverse Osmosis Membranes from the Largest Seawater Desalination Plant in Oman. Membranes. 2022; 12(7):671. https://doi.org/10.3390/membranes12070671

Chicago/Turabian Style

Al-Abri, Mohammed, Htet Htet Kyaw, Buthayna Al-Ghafri, Myo Tay Zar Myint, and Sergey Dobretsov. 2022. "Autopsy of Used Reverse Osmosis Membranes from the Largest Seawater Desalination Plant in Oman" Membranes 12, no. 7: 671. https://doi.org/10.3390/membranes12070671

APA Style

Al-Abri, M., Kyaw, H. H., Al-Ghafri, B., Myint, M. T. Z., & Dobretsov, S. (2022). Autopsy of Used Reverse Osmosis Membranes from the Largest Seawater Desalination Plant in Oman. Membranes, 12(7), 671. https://doi.org/10.3390/membranes12070671

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