Fouling is a phenomenon that occurs in all membrane processes. It is a complex problem,
which limits the full operation of this technology. Fouling in pressure-driven
membranes (PDMs) has been studied extensively, and the occurrence is well understood
in that methods of mitigation have been proposed; however, limitations still occur
for their full implementation. The use of osmotically driven membranes (ODMs) for
water treatment is an emerging technology, which has shown some advantages such as
low hydraulic pressure operation, high solute rejection and high recovery over PDMs.
However, like in PDMs, fouling still presents a challenge. This chapter is aimed at evaluating
the impact of fouling on the ODM performance, exploring the factors and mechanisms
governing the fouling behaviour, developing approaches for mitigating fouling,
elucidating the effect of membrane fouling and providing mitigation strategies as well
as the causes of fouling in ODMs.
