An Infrared thermography (IRT) technique for characterization of fouling on membrane surface has been developed. The emitted spectral power from the fouled membrane is a function of emissivity and surface morphology. In this work, a FLIR A320 IR camera was used to measure surface temperature and emissivity. The surface temperature and the corresponding emissivity value of various areas on the fouled membrane surface is measured by the infrared camera and recorded alongside its thermogram. Different fouling experiments were performed using different concentrations of aluminum oxide nanoparticle mixed with deionized water as feed solution (333 ppm, 1833 ppm and 3333 ppm) so as to investigate the effect of feed concentration on the degree of fouling and thus its effect on the emissivity values measured on the membrane surfaces. Surface plots in 3D and Line plots are obtained for the measured emissivity values and thickness of the fouling deposit on the membrane surface respectively. The results indicate that the IRT technique is sensitive to changes that occur on the membrane surface due to deposition of contaminants on the membrane surface and that emissivity is a function of temperature, surface roughness and thickness of the specimen under investigation.
