Patent ID: 9505637
Filing Date: 2016-11-29
CPC Classification: B01D,C02F

Claim Text:
1. A method of inhibiting microbial fouling, the method comprising: providing an industrial process containing an aqueous liquid having a biocide demand and a first filtration surface having a given porosity and at least one operating variable selected from the group consisting of backwash count, vacuum count, oxidation-reduction potential, and combinations thereof; treating the aqueous liquid with a biocide; determining the biocide demand of the biocide-treated aqueous liquid by monitoring at least one of the operating variables of the first filtration surface; providing a stream of the biocide-treated aqueous liquid; filtering the stream of the biocide-treated aqueous liquid with the first filtration surface to produce a second stream as a filtrate stream that is initially returned to the industrial process, and continuing the filtering and returning of the filtrate stream until a steady state with respect to at least one of the operating variables of the first filtration surface is reached; identifying that the steady state with respect to at least one of the operating variables of the first filtration surface has been reached by measuring at least one of the operating variables, whereupon the stream of the biocide treated aqueous liquid is diverted away from the first filtration surface to a second filtration surface having a lower porosity than the first filtration surface; filtering the diverted stream with the second filtration surface to produce a third stream; and returning at least a portion of the third stream to the industrial process.