The presence of silica in the raw water greatly complicates the reverse osmosis desalting process. Threshold limits for the deposition of silica scale, which can precipitate in a variety of forms, are difficult to predict as they are influenced by a large number of parameters. The objectives of this research are to characterize the role of various parameters in determining scaling limits and assess the effectiveness of recently available silica anti-scalants. Techniques for characterizing silica scaling phenomena are being developed.

Parts of this research project are funded by MEDReC (Joint project no. 97-A-OO4d with Dr. Roya Sheikholeslami, University of South Wales, Australia) and by the Israel National Science Foundation (1380021).