Related Experiment Video
Updated: Nov 19, 2025
Characterization of Aquatic Biofilms with Flow Cytometry
Published on: June 6, 2018
Measuring Biofouling Potential in SWRO Plants with a Flow-Cytometry-Based Bacterial Growth Potential Method
Nirajan Dhakal1,2,3, Sergio G Salinas-Rodriguez1, Joshua Ampah1
1Water Supply Sanitation and Environmental Engineering Department, IHE Delft Institute for Water Education, Westvest 7, 2611 AX Delft, The Netherlands.
A new flow-cytometry method quickly measures bacterial growth potential in seawater reverse osmosis feed water. This bacterial growth potential assessment helps optimize pre-treatment processes to reduce biofouling and cleaning frequency in SWRO systems.
Area of Science:
- Environmental Science
- Microbiology
- Water Treatment Engineering
Background:
- Bacterial growth potential (BGP) in seawater reverse osmosis (SWRO) feed water is a critical factor influencing biofouling.
- Conventional bioassays for BGP are time-consuming, limiting their practical application in real-time monitoring.
- Assessing and mitigating biofouling is essential for efficient and cost-effective SWRO operations.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop and validate a rapid flow-cytometry (FCM)-based bacterial growth potential (BGP) method for SWRO feed water.
- To evaluate the biofouling potential of SWRO feed water using the developed FCM-BGP method.
- To compare the effectiveness of different pre-treatment strategies in reducing biofouling potential.
Main Methods:
- Development of a flow-cytometry (FCM)-based bacterial growth potential (BGP) assay using natural microbial consortia.
- Optimization of nutrient addition during FCM-BGP measurement to achieve minimal measurable values.
- Application of the FCM-BGP method to assess pre-treated SWRO feed water from two full-scale plants with different pre-treatment systems (DAF-UF and DMF-CF).
Main Results:
- The FCM-BGP method provides results in 2-3 days, significantly faster than conventional methods.
- Dissolved air flotation and ultra-filtration (DAF-UF) pre-treatment reduced BGP by 54%, while dual-media filtration and cartridge filter (DMF-CF) reduced BGP by 40%.
- SWRO feed water after DAF-UF supported 1.5 x 10^6 cells/mL, which is 1.25 times higher than after DMF-CF, correlating with higher cleaning-in-place frequency.
Conclusions:
- The flow-cytometry based bacterial growth potential (FCM-BGP) method is a rapid and effective tool for assessing biofouling potential in SWRO systems.
- Pre-treatment strategies significantly impact the bacterial growth potential of SWRO feed water, with DAF-UF showing greater reduction than DMF-CF.
- The FCM-BGP method offers added value for monitoring biofouling potential and optimizing pre-treatment processes in SWRO plants.
More Related Videos
10:16Molecular Probe Optimization to Determine Cell Mortality in a Photosynthetic Organism Microcystis aeruginosa Using Flow Cytometry
Published on: January 29, 2016
09:57Characterizing Microbiome Dynamics – Flow Cytometry Based Workflows from Pure Cultures to Natural Communities
Published on: July 12, 2018
