Enzymatic control of alginate fouling of dead-end MF and UF ceramic membranes

► We studied alginate lyase to depolymerize alginate to reduce membrane fouling. ► The enzymatic degradation of alginate followed Michaelis-Menten kinetics. ► The enzyme significantly reduced membrane fouling of both MF/UF membranes. ► Even fouled, the enzyme made membranes easier to clean (reversible fouling). ► The enzyme had a better improvement for the UF than the MF membrane.