Biofouling ecology as a means to better understand membrane biofouling

Despite more than a decade of worldwide research on membrane fouling in membrane bioreactors, many questions remain to be answered. Biofouling, which is referred to as the unwanted deposition and growth of biofilms, remains the main problem. Due to its complexity, most of the existing anti-biofouling strategies are not completely successful. To unravel this complexity and finally to developed well-adapted control strategies, a microbial-based description of the biofouling development is needed. Therefore, in this review, the biofouling formation will be described as a typical biofilm formation in five steps including the formation of a conditioning film, the bacterial attachment, the production of extracellular polymeric substances, the biofilm maturation, and the bacterial detachment. Moreover, important processes such as hydrodynamics and bacterial communication or quorum sensing will be taken into account. It is finally discussed whether biofouling formation is an active or inactive biofilm process together with suggestion for further research.