Abstract
Most people working in water desalination recognize that scale formation and fouling problems are facts of their practical life. Seawater and brackish water always have the tendency for scale formation and fouling problems due to dissolved salts and finely suspended solids. Elaborate models are available to simulate these scale and fouling problems to help the design engineer to predict the effects of such problems on the performance of desalination plants. From the practical point of view, the main kinds of scales in MSF plants are CaSO sub(4), Mg(OH) sub(2) and CaCO sub(3), while in RO plants biofouling of the membrane is the major problem. The present paper investigates the various models and mechanisms of scale formation and fouling processes in water desalination plants. Practical data are also given whenever possible. The asymptotic fouling model of Kern and Seaton is successfully applied to correlate the actual fouling data taken from one of the desalination plants in the Kingdom. The interaction between scale formation and corrosion problems in desalination plants is also considered.