UF and RO membrane fouling during wastewater desalination in the petrochemical industry

The large consumption of fresh water in petrochemical industry makes wastewater reuse almost mandatory, with UF and RO membrane desalination playing a crucial role. To that aim, frequent and expensive recovery treatments are required, not always sufficient to prevent (ir)reversible fouling of the membranes, as experienced with a major European petrochemical factory. The paper describes the detailed physio-chemical investigation and instrumental analyses carried out to discover the cause(s) of the fouling and the operational measures required to contrast the phenomenon.