Natural organic matter fouling in pressure retarded osmosis

The observed variation in fouling propensity between different types of PRO membranes was significant. The CA membrane was less susceptible to NOM fouling than the four TFC types of PRO membranes. It is anticipated that the variation in fouling propensity that were observed for different membranes was related to both material and structural properties of the membranes. The results show the importance of applying fouling propensity as an additional main criterion to membrane performance during future research and development of PRO membranes.