Effect of salt and metal accumulation on performance of membrane distillation system and microbial community succession in membrane biofilms

Membrane distillation (MD) works as a promising alternative of conventional membrane separation technologies like RO to desalinate hypersaline water owing to its high concentration brine tolerance and 100% theoretical solute rejection. However, membrane fouling is a big issue impeding its development and industrialization. The continuous accumulation of salts and metals in MD system during the treatment of hypersaline water inevitably posed an impact on the biofilm formation as well as the MD system performance. Hence, we reported the biofouling mechanism of MD system during the desalination of hypersaline water, emphasizing on the effects of salt-stress (NaCl) and metal-stress (Zn and Fe) on microbial community structure in biofilms.