“This research study will greatly improve our understanding of membrane fouling, which will result in defining better site-specific fouling control strategies through appropriate membrane selection, as well as effective pretreatment and cleaning,” says Jerome Leparc, research engineer with the NATC's drinking water division.
Participating utilities include the Tampa Bay Regional Surface Water Treatment Plant and the Indianapolis Water Treatment Plant, which are both operated by USFilter. The plants will host pilot studies, offering a range of water qualities for testing the fouling effect on microfiltration and ultrafiltration membranes.