Relationship between biofouling and recovery ratio:the theoretical approach and one experimental case

iofouling is the undesirable accumulation of microorganisms on the membrane surface and it is one of themajor problems affecting the performance and the economy of many membrane installations for the treatment ofseawater and wastewater. Unlike inorganic fouling, biological fouling due to microorganisms can be dependent ontheir growth rate. The paper examines from a theoretical point of view the influence of the membrane recoveryratio on the concentration of biomass in the membrane module. An attempt of validation of the model has been triedusing a submerged microfiltration hollow-fibre membrane set-up.