Increasing permeate recovery provides a
great benefit in brackish water desalination, reducing costs and
brine discharge [13,14]. However, high permeate recovery is
limited due to inorganic fouling (mineral scaling); under such
conditions the precipitation propensity of sparingly water soluble
mineral salts, such as gypsum (CaSO4 2H2O), calcium carbonate
(CaCO3), barite (BaSO4), and silica (SiO2) is enhanced [15–17]. Thus,
to overcome these scaling problems and prolong the operational
lifespan of RO membranes, the addition of certain chemicals has
become a necessity; in order to influence the characteristics of the
feed water and minimize the risk of working at high permeate
recovery