Adsorptive fouling of a polypropylene microfiltration membrane with dissolved natural organic matter: do membranes possess an adsorption capacity?

2006 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 25-30 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Koh ◽  
M.M. Clark ◽  
K.P. Ishida
Keyword(s):  
Organic Matter ◽  
Adsorption Capacity ◽  
Natural Organic Matter ◽  
Membrane Fouling ◽  
Natural Waters ◽  
Uv Light ◽  
Attenuated Total Reflectance ◽  
Infrared Spectrometry ◽  
Flux Decline ◽  
Aromatic Ether

Rejection by membrane adsorption has been observed and widely reported. However, little is known about whether membranes possess an adsorption capacity. Experimental data showed that when a hydrophobic polypropylene (PP) microfilter was used to filter a large volume of particle-free surface water containing dissolved natural organic matter (NOM), later batches of microfiltration (MF) permeate caused more flux decline to a fresh 20K-Dalton polyethersulfone (PES) ultrafilter. This suggests that membranes can have an adsorption capacity for foulants. In this research, the gradual increase in absorbance of ultraviolet (UV) light by subsequent batches of MF permeate was observed, and supports the findings from previous studies, that only a small fraction of NOM causes membrane fouling. Attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform infrared spectrometry and energy dispersive spectroscopy of fouled PP and PES membranes suggests foulants containing amide, aromatic, ether, hydroxyl and silicate functional groups. Silicates appear to participate in membrane fouling, and its removal with the small fraction of fouling NOM can reduce the fouling potential of water. These data improve our understanding of membrane fouling by natural waters, and have implications for the design of membrane plants that filter natural waters.

Investigation of membrane fouling by synthetic and natural particles

2004 ◽  
Vol 50 (12) ◽  
pp. 279-285 ◽  
Author(s):  
J.H. Kweon ◽  
D.F. Lawler
Keyword(s):  
Organic Matter ◽  
Natural Organic Matter ◽  
Membrane Fouling ◽  
Membrane Surface ◽  
Research Articles ◽  
Clay Material ◽  
Dramatic Effect ◽  
Flux Decline ◽  
Scanning Electron

The biggest impediment for applying membrane processes is fouling that comes from mass flux (such as particle and organic matter) to the membrane surface and its pores. Numerous research articles have indicated that either particles or natural organic matter (NOM) has been the most detrimental foulant. Therefore, the role of particles in membrane fouling was investigated with two synthetic waters (having either particles alone or particles with simple organic matter) and a natural water. Membrane fouling was evaluated with flux decline behavior and direct images from scanning electron microscopy. The results showed that the combined fouling by kaolin and dextran (a simple organic compound selected as a surrogate for NOM) showed no difference from the fouling with only the organic matter. The similarity might stem from the fact that dextran (i.e., polysaccharide) has no ability to be adsorbed on the clay material, so that the polysaccharide behaves the same with respect to the membrane with or without clay material being present. In contrast to kaolin, the natural particles showed a dramatic effect on membrane fouling.

The fouling of ultrafiltration membranes by natural organic matter after chemical coagulation treatment with different initial mixing conditions

2006 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. 117-124 ◽  
Author(s):  
H.C. Kim ◽  
J.H. Hong ◽  
S. Lee
Keyword(s):  
Organic Matter ◽  
Natural Organic Matter ◽  
Membrane Fouling ◽  
Membrane Filtration ◽  
Mixing Conditions ◽  
Mechanical Mixing ◽  
Chemical Coagulation ◽  
Flux Decline ◽  
Hydrophobic Fraction ◽  
Hydrophilic Membranes

The flux decline in the UF membrane filtration of water pretreated by chemical coagulation using different initial mixing conditions were compared and the influence of natural organic matter (NOM) on the fouling of membranes was investigated. It was suggested that organic matter in the molecular weight ranges 300–2,000 and 20,000–40,000 Daltons were mainly responsible for the fouling. The fouling was greater for hydrophobic than hydrophilic membranes. ATR-FTIR analysis of the fouled hydrophobic membranes indicated that aliphatic amide and alcoholic compounds as well as polysaccharides contributed to significant membrane fouling. These adsorptive foulants are considered as neutral fractions present in hydrophobic and hydrophilic NOM components. In the case of similar hydrophilic fractions, water precoagulated with a high hydrophobic content resulted in greater flux decline, which was presumed to be due to the organic matter with neutral properties contained within the hydrophobic fraction. The relative concentrations of each NOM fraction in coagulated water are important. Mechanical mixing for chemical coagulation, with a backmixing-type, rather than pump diffusion mixing, with an in-line type, is likely to be more effective at reducing the fouling caused by NOM.

Coagulation/flocculation/ultrafiltration for natural organic matter removal in drinking water production

2004 ◽  
Vol 4 (5-6) ◽  
pp. 215-222 ◽  
Author(s):  
A.R. Costa ◽  
M.N. de Pinho
Keyword(s):  
Drinking Water ◽  
Organic Matter ◽  
Natural Organic Matter ◽  
Membrane Fouling ◽  
Membrane Filtration ◽  
Membrane Surface ◽  
Water Production ◽  
Cellulose Acetate Membranes ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Drinking Water Production

Membrane fouling by natural organic matter (NOM), namely by humic substances (HS), is a major problem in water treatment for drinking water production using membrane processes. Membrane fouling is dependent on membrane morphology like pore size and on water characteristics namely NOM nature. This work addresses the evaluation of the efficiency of ultrafiltration (UF) and Coagulation/Flocculation/UF performance in terms of permeation fluxes and HS removal, of the water from Tagus River (Valada). The operation of coagulation with chitosan was evaluated as a pretreatment for minimization of membrane fouling. UF experiments were carried out in flat cells of 13.2×10−4 m2 of membrane surface area and at transmembrane pressures from 1 to 4 bar. Five cellulose acetate membranes were laboratory made to cover a wide range of molecular weight cut-off (MWCO): 2,300, 11,000, 28,000, 60,000 and 75,000 Da. Severe fouling is observed for the membranes with the highest cut-off. In the permeation experiments of raw water, coagulation prior to membrane filtration led to a significant improvement of the permeation performance of the membranes with the highest MWCO due to the particles and colloidal matter removal.

scholarly journals Influential Mechanism of Natural Organic Matters with Calcium Ion on the Anion Exchange Membrane Fouling Behavior via xDLVO Theory

Membranes ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (12) ◽  
pp. 968
Author(s):  
Zhun Ma ◽  
Lu Zhang ◽  
Ying Liu ◽  
Xiaosheng Ji ◽  
Yuting Xu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Organic Matter ◽  
Interaction Energy ◽  
Anion Exchange ◽  
Natural Organic Matter ◽  
Calcium Ions ◽  
Membrane Fouling ◽  
Membrane Surface ◽  
Anion Exchange Membrane ◽  
Anion Exchange Membranes ◽  
Exchange Membrane

The fouling mechanism of the anion exchange membrane (AEM) induced by natural organic matter (NOM) in the absence and presence of calcium ions was systematically investigated via the extended Derjaguin–Landau–Verwey–Overbeek (xDLVO) approach. Sodium alginate (SA), humic acid (HA), and bovine serum albumin (BSA) were utilized as model NOM fractions. The results indicated that the presence of calcium ions tremendously aggravated the NOM fouling on the anion exchange membrane because of Ca-NOM complex formation. Furthermore, analysis of the interaction energy between the membrane surface and foulants via xDLVO revealed that short-range acid–base (AB) interaction energy played a significant role in the compositions of interaction energy during the electrodialysis (ED) process. The influence of NOM fractions in the presence of calcium ions on membrane fouling followed the order: SA > BSA > HA. This study demonstrated that the interaction energy was a dominating indicator for evaluating the tendency of anion exchange membranes fouling by natural organic matter.

Application of composite flocculants for removing organic matter and mitigating ultrafiltration membrane fouling in surface water treatment: the role of composite ratio

2019 ◽  
Vol 5 (12) ◽  
pp. 2242-2250
Author(s):  
Xue Shen ◽  
Baoyu Gao ◽  
Kangying Guo ◽  
Qinyan Yue
Keyword(s):  
Organic Matter ◽  
Water Treatment ◽  
Surface Water ◽  
Membrane Permeability ◽  
Natural Organic Matter ◽  
Membrane Fouling ◽  
Ultrafiltration Membrane ◽  
Surface Water Treatment ◽  
Ultrafiltration Membrane Fouling

Coagulation prior to the ultrafiltration (UF) process was implemented to improve natural organic matter (NOM) removal and membrane permeability.

Removal of Natural Organic Matter by Ultrafiltration: Characterisation, Fouling and Cleaning

1999 ◽  
Vol 40 (9) ◽  
pp. 113-120 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Maartens ◽  
P. Swart ◽  
E. P. Jacobs
Keyword(s):  
Organic Matter ◽  
Natural Organic Matter ◽  
Membrane Fouling ◽  
Pure Water ◽  
Water Flux ◽  
Cleaning Efficiency ◽  
Commercial Sample ◽  
Membrane Selectivity ◽  
Flux Measurements ◽  
Pure Water Flux

Organic matter in natural brown water as well as humic acids from a commercial sample were characterised by ultraviolet-visible light-spectroscopy and used in ultrafiltration studies. During ultrafiltration the pure-water flux and the operational flux were measured continuously to determine the degree of membrane fouling. The natural organic matter and commercial humic acid concentrations of the feed and permeate solutions were determined spectrophotometrically. These variables were used in conjunction with conventional flux measurements, to determine the colour-removal efficiency of ultrafiltration as well as the degree of foulant adsorption onto the membranes. Fouled membranes were cleaned with alkaline chemical agents normally used to extract natural organic matter from soil samples. The cleaning efficiency and the effect of cleaning solutions on the membrane selectivity were studied.

scholarly journals Impacts of Natural Organic Matter Adhesion on Irreversible Membrane Fouling during Surface Water Treatment Using Ultrafiltration

Membranes ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (9) ◽  
pp. 238
Author(s):  
Fangshu Qu ◽  
Zhimeng Yang ◽  
Shanshan Gao ◽  
Huarong Yu ◽  
Junguo He ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Organic Matter ◽  
Surface Water ◽  
Natural Organic Matter ◽  
Membrane Fouling ◽  
Adhesion Forces ◽  
Cake Filtration ◽  
Force Microscopy ◽  
Surface Water Treatment ◽  
Atomic Force ◽  
Colloidal Probes

To understand impacts of organic adhesion on membrane fouling, ultrafiltration (UF) membrane fouling by dissolved natural organic matter (NOM) was investigated in the presence of background cations (Na+ and Ca2+) at typical concentrations in surface water. Moreover, NOM adhesion on the UF membrane was investigated using atomic force microscopy (AFM) with colloidal probes and a quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation monitoring (QCM-D). The results indicated that the adhesion forces at the NOM-membrane interface increased in the presence of background cations, particularly Ca2+, and that the amount of adhered NOM increased due to reduced electrostatic repulsion. However, the membrane permeability was almost not affected by background cations in the pore blocking-dominated phase but was aggravated to some extent in the cake filtration-governed phase. More importantly, the irreversible NOM fouling was not correlated with the amount of adhered NOM. The assumption for membrane autopsies is doubtful that retained or adsorbed organic materials are necessarily a primary cause of membrane fouling, particularly the irreversible fouling.

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