Sensors for Detecting Membrane Fouling and Degradation at Full-Scale Installations

Professor Hoek and colleagues have developed low and high pressure fouling detectors to be used in full-scale membrane filtration and desalination plants. Successfully tested at the Long Beach Water Department’s prototype membrane desalination facility the detectors represent the inlet of the lead element of a full-scale plant where fouling is typically most severe or the outlet of the tail element of a full-scale plant where scaling occurs. This is crucial as early warning of membrane fouling scaling or degradation can result in faster response times to optimize plant performance and/or prevent plant failures.