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On-campus, intensive and highly specialized courses

Experimental Methods in Desalination and Membrane Technology

This course covers the fundamentals of membrane-based desalination and the experimental and analytical methods for water quality characterization applied in desalination and membrane technology processes for producing drinking and industrial water and water for irrigation.

For whom?

The course targets undergraduate and graduate students, academics, laboratory staff, plant operators, engineers, consultants, and other sector professionals in the water sector.

Course content

Sustainable desalination for drinking, agriculture and industry applications.

Fouling and scaling issues in desalination and membrane systems.

Pre-treatment systems.

Environmental concerns in desalination.

Experimental methods to assess fouling and scaling:

  • Particulate fouling: i) silt density index (SDI), ii) modified fouling index (MFI0.45), iii) modified fouling index with ultrafiltration membranes (MFI-UF).
  • Organic matter: i) total and dissolved organic carbon (TOC, DOC), ii) fluorescence excitation emission matrix (FEEM), iii) ultraviolet absorbance (UV254), iv) liquid chromatography coupled with organic carbon detection (LC-OCD), v) transparent exopolymer particles (TEP)
  • Biomass quantification: i) adenosine tri-phosphate (ATP), ii) total, live and dead cells quantification by flow cytometry (FCM)
  • Biological fouling: i) bacterial growth potential test (BGP-ATP/FCM), ii) membrane fouling simulator (MFS)
  • Scaling: i) induction time tests, ii) scaling and antiscalant dosing projections by standard procedures and free commercial software.

Performance assessment of water treatment systems.

Field work

Course Coordinator

Sergio Salinas Rodríguez

Head of the WSSEE Department

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