A mini-review on membrane fouling

► The cause, fouling phenomena and fouling mechanisms of membrane fouling are reviewed. ► Better understanding of fouling in membrane applications is provided. ► The predominant foulants in various membrane applications are reviewed. ► Different fouling mechanisms can provide a really complex matrix. During the last decades, the interest of using membrane technology has emerged in wastewater treatment as well as drinking water and process water production. However, the impediment of the membrane technology is the fouling problem and consequently higher operating and membrane replacement cost. Hence, better understanding of membrane fouling is not only the key to solve the problems, but also is one of the main factors driving membrane technology forward. This mini-review paper identifies the major foulants and the principal membrane fouling mechanisms such as pore blocking, cake formation, concentration polarization, organic adsorption, inorganic precipitation and biological fouling. It also gives a holistic review about different fouling phenomena during the application of membrane separation technologies in water and wastewater treatment, with specific references to various problems, membranes, treatment processes and its practical applications.