Investigating submerged ultrafiltration (UF) and microfiltration (MF) membranes for seawater pre-treatment dedicated to total removal of undesirable micro-algae

The most promising results were obtained with microfiltration membrane (0.2 µm): the highest steady state permeate flux reached 29 L h− 1 m− 2 under 0.3 bar of transmembrane pressure after 180 min of filtration. More than 99%, 87% and 98% of micro-algae, Total Suspended Solid (TSS), and turbidity were eliminated, respectively. Combining hydraulic permeability versus time with modified fouling index (MFI) determination and membrane autopsy (FEG-SEM and AFM observations), it is observed that fouling is mainly due to cake formation.