A primary requirement in the design of an RO pretreatment system is to characterize carefully the scaling and fouling propensity of the raw water feed. This project, under the framework of the European Commission, is realized in cooperation with other academic and commercial bodies, namely Suez-Lyonnaise des Eaux - Cirsee of France, Agbar of Spain, C.P.E.R.I at the Thessaloniki University in Greece and Mekorot Water Co. Ltd. of Israel.

In this project, common practices of water analysis, fouling propensity characterization and pretreatment methods are reviewed, based on information gathered from the main membrane manufacturers, literature data and the experience of the research partners.