It can be concluded from the data presented herein, that in
desalination of brackish water, depending on its chemical
nature, antiscalants can enhance RO membrane biofouling in
several different ways at different stages of the biofilm growth.
Polyacrylate-based antiscalants were shown to enhance membrane
biofouling by altering the surface physico-chemical
properties of the membranes, which in turn promotes the
initial attachment and deposition of the bacterial cells.
Polyphosphonate-based antiscalants contribute to the membrane
biofouling by serving as sources of nutrients for the
bacterial cells. Comparing the two effects, the results in this
work showed that the former effect of the antiscalants