Development of Innovative Filtration Membrane for Trapping TEP in Water Pretreatment Step by Sumitomo Electric
TEP substances are gel particles which are present in high salinity seawater which can not be removed through sand filtration. TEP substances provide a fertile ground for bacteria and form a biofilm which fouls the reverse osmosis (RO) membrane form. The alternative is the ultrafiltration (UF) or microfiltration (MF) membranes capable of trapping TEP, however, accumulated TEP would clog the membrane causing the filtration flow rate to reduce significantly. This will result in use of large surface area membrane which would lead to higher cost of desalination. As a result of this, Sumitomo Electric has developed an innovative filtration membrane, which is called TEP Trap (TT) membrane capable of trapping TEP during the pretreatment step. Read more
