Water quality and performance evaluation at seawater reverse osmosis plants through the use of advanced analytical tools

Advanced analytical tools have been developed to allow thorough characterisation of seawater samples from many aspects: (i) inorganic characterisation, (ii) characterisation of the natural organic matter, (iii) quantification of the main algal pigments (chlorophyll, pheophytin), and (iv) enumeration of phytoplankton and bacteria. These analytical tools were used at a seawater reverse osmosis plant in Gibraltar and provided valuable information to quantify the risks of fouling. Indeed, in addition to the measurement of the Silt Density Index (SDI), the results of the advanced analyses provided a detailed characterisation of the raw seawater sources (surface seawater and well seawater) as well as a thorough assessment of the pretreatment performance.