Managing Fouling in Nanofiltration Systems: Literature Review and Practical Experience in South Florida

In South Florida, nanofiltration (NF) has become a vital part of the water treatment landscape. The widespread use of nanofiltration in the region, combined with a challenging source water, makes control of fouling and cleaning of fouled membranes critical issues. For this presentation, the literature was reviewed to identify critical factors that influence fouling potential and information was gathered from existing water treatment facilities to gain practical insight into how these issues are dealt with on a day-to-day operational basis. Although this paper focuses on a particular region, the information can be applied to similar systems that treat relatively hard, waters with high levels of total organic carbon (TOC)waters.