Antiscalants Used in Seawater Desalination: Biodegradability and Effects on Microbial Diversity.

ABSTRACT: Antiscalants are organic polymers widely used for scale inhibition in seawater desalination. While they are susceptible to biodegradation, they provide nutrients for bacterial cell growth and energy for the microbes that assimilate and degrade them. This paper shows the biodegradability of three commercial antiscalants (polyacrylate-CA, polyphosphonate-PP, and carboxylated dendrimers-DN) applied in seawater reverse osmosis desalination (SWRO) as well as analyzing the antiscalant's effects on microbial diversity using microbial cultures grown in seawater, under semi-continuous batch conditions. Nutritional uptake and contribution of the antiscalants to microbial growth were investigated by measuring DOC, TDN, NO₃^-, NO₂^-, PO₄^-

SUBMITTER: Al-Ashhab A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9414044 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature