The crystalline fouling mainly happens in
membrane application for ground water treatment due
to salt precipitation (eg. Calcium salts, Magnesium
salts). The organic fouling and biofouling are
commonly causes for membrane fouling in
wastewater treatment, while particle and colloidal
fouling are major fouling causes for membrane
surface-water treatment.
Fouling is the key problem in all membrane
applications. Fouling changes the pore size and
pore size distribution either by deposition of a layer
onto the membrane surface or by blockage or partial
blockage of the pores.