This workshop was aimed to provide updated information on the topic of wide concern - the problem of fouling mitigation. While there has been a great advancement in the development of membrane systems for desalination, water purification and wastewater disposal, fouling still remains as a major bottleneck. In view of its major impact on process efficiency and economics, the fouling problem is receiving wide attention from membrane manufacturers, plant designers, plant operators and researchers. Naturally, there is considerable interest in getting reliable and well-balanced information on the progress generated by these persistent efforts.

This workshop initiated by the founders of the Israel Desalination Society (IDS) was organized under the auspices of the Water Research Institute (WRI) of the Technion (Israel), the Water Center of Ben-Gurion University (Israel), the Middle East Desalination Research Center (Oman) and the Fairleigh Dickinson University (USA). The organizing committee was chaired in Israel by Profs. David Hasson and Raphael Semiat of Technion's WRI Rabin Desalination Laboratory (RDL) and was chaired in the USA by Prof. Harvey Winters, Program Director in the School of Natural Sciences of the Fairleigh Dickinson University.

The workshop was based on foremost fouling experts, drawn from both industry and academia, on a worldwide basis. The quality of the program attracted international participation. The Workshop was attended by 130 Israeli participants and over 40 visitors from 12 countries, which included 11 participants from Jordan and the Palestinian Authority. Invited guests to the workshop included the President of the International Desalination Association - Mr. David H. Furukawa, the Research Director of the Middle East Desalination Research Center - Prof. Klaus Genthner, the Manager of the US Desalination Research and Development program - Mr. Kevin Price.

The day devoted to pre-workshop activities included a lecture, delivered by Prof. Uri Shamir, Director of WRI on "Water Issues of the Middle East". A total of 17 lectures were presented in 4 sessions: Fouling Control, Advanced Pretreatment Processes, and two sessions devoted to Anti-Fouling Membranes and Modules. The workshop closing session was devoted to a summary of the information presented and a general discussion on R&D priorities relating to membrane fouling mitigation.

Publications:

1. Sheikholeslami, R., "Fouling Mitigation in Membrane Processes", Desalination 123(1), (1999), pp. 45-53.
2. "Fouling Mitigation in Membrane Processes - Program and Abstract of Workshop Papers", Published by the Technion - Israel Institute of Technology, (1999). The book can be obtained by contacting Prof. David Hasson.
3. Sheikholeslami, R., "Workshop Report: Mitigation of Fouling in Membrane Processes", Membrane News, The Newsletter of the European Membrane Society 50, (1999), pp. 8-9.
4. Sheikholeslami, R., "The Workshop on Fouling Mitigation in Membrane Processes", Membrane Quarterly published by the North American Membrane Society, 14(2), (1999), pp. 35-37.