Control of biofouling by xanthine oxidase on seawater reverse osmosis membranes from a desalination plant: enzyme production and screening of bacterial isolates from the full-scale plant.

Abstract

Xanthine oxidase, an oxidoreductase enzyme that generates reactive oxygen species, is endogenously produced by many bacterial species. In this study, production of the enzyme by bacterial isolates from a full-scale desalination plant was investigated for potential use as biological control of membrane fouling in seawater desalination. We have previously demonstrated that free radicals generated by a commercially available xanthine oxidase in the presence of a hypoxanthine substrate, effectively dispersed biofilm polysaccharides on industrially fouled membranes. Bacterial xanthine oxidase production in the presence of hypoxanthine may prove to be a cost effective, insitu method for alleviation of fouling.