Here, the diatom species Pseudo-nitzschia sp. was isolated from the
RO feed tank of the SWRO Penneshaw Desalination Plant (Kangaroo
Island, South Australia) and used as a phytoplankton model species
for TEP production. Its propensity to form biofilms on commercial
thin film composite (TFC) SWRO membranes was assessed using a
laboratory-scale cross-flow system. Microbial communities, nutrients
and TEP were analyzed using flow cytometry, light microscopy, flow
cell injection and colorimetry. All biofilms formed were characterized
using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), attenuated total
reflectance-Fourier transform infrared ((ATR-FTIR) spectroscopy and
colorimetry.