This $170,314 federal Project Grant award from the National Science Foundation (NSF) Engineering program (CFDA 47.041) is funding research by Arizona State University to elucidate the interactions between inorganic scaling and organic fouling in reverse osmosis (RO) desalination systems. The overarching goal is to improve the performance and efficiency of RO desalination, which is a critical technology for addressing global freshwater scarcity. The researchers will integrate experimental studies and computational simulations to investigate how organic foulants impact mineral scaling on RO membranes. Findings from this work are expected to advance the fundamental scientific understanding of coupled scaling and fouling processes, and inform the development of more effective anti-fouling membrane materials. This award reflects NSF's mission to support transformative engineering research with potential societal impacts. No subawards are planned under this grant.
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