Characteristics of Fouled and Chemically Cleaned Membrane

2014 ◽  
Vol 1073-1076 ◽  
pp. 751-754
Author(s):  
Jun Xia Liu ◽  
Bing Zhi Dong ◽  
Wei Wei Huang

The main objective of this study was to investigate membrane fouling caused by natural organic matter (NOM). Flux measurement, fourier transform spectroscopy (FTIR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) were employed to compare the surface morphology of fouled membrane and chemically cleaned membrane. Sodium hypochlorite (NaClO), sodium hydroxide (NaOH), hydrochloric acid (HCl) were used as chemical cleaning agents respectively. Flux analysis demonstrated that chemical cleaning have little effect on flux recovery. FTIR spectrometry revealed that polysaccharide and protein took the major responsibility for membrane fouling. SEM showed that foulants filled the pores and blocked the membrane surface which led to the flux decline.

2004 ◽  
Vol 50 (12) ◽  
pp. 279-285 ◽  
Author(s):  
J.H. Kweon ◽  
D.F. Lawler

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.


2015 ◽  
Vol 17 (4) ◽  
pp. 56-64 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marek Gryta ◽  
Marta Waszak ◽  
Maria Tomaszewska

Abstract In this work a fouling study of polypropylene membranes used for microfiltration of glycerol solutions fermented by Citrobacter freundii bacteria was presented. The permeate free of C. freundii bacteria and having a turbidity in the range of 0.72–1.46 NTU was obtained. However, the initial permeate flux (100–110 L/m2h at 30 kPa of transmembrane pressure) was decreased 3–5 fold during 2–3 h of process duration. The performed scanning electron microscope observations confirmed that the filtered bacteria and suspensions present in the broth formed a cake layer on the membrane surface. A method of periodical module rinsing was used for restriction of the fouling influence on a flux decline. Rinsing with water removed most of the bacteria from the membrane surface, but did not permit to restore the initial permeate flux. It was confirmed that the irreversible fouling was dominated during broth filtration. The formed deposit was removed using a 1 wt% solution of sodium hydroxide as a rinsing solution.


2004 ◽  
Vol 4 (5-6) ◽  
pp. 215-222 ◽  
Author(s):  
A.R. Costa ◽  
M.N. de Pinho

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.


2006 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 69-78 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. Harif ◽  
M. Hai ◽  
A. Adin

Electroflocculation (EF) is a coagulation/flocculation process in which active coagulant species are generated in situ by electrolytic oxidation of an appropriate anode material. The effect of colloidal suspension pretreatment by EF on membrane fouling was measured by flux decline at constant pressure. An EF cell was operated in batch mode and comprised two flat sheet electrodes, an aluminium anode and stainless steel cathode, which were immersed in the treated suspension, and connected to an external DC power supply. The cell was run at constant current between 0.06–0.2A. The results show that pre-EF enhances the permeate flux at pH 5 and 6.5, but only marginal improvement is observed at pH 8. At all pH values cake formation on the membrane surface was observed. The differences in membrane behavior can be explained by conventional coagulation theory and transitions between aluminium mononuclear species which affect particle characteristics and consequently cake properties. At pH 6.5, where sweep floc mechanism dominates due to increased precipitation of aluminium hydroxide, increased flux rates were observed. It is evident that EF can serve as an efficient pretreatment to ultrafiltration of colloid particles.


Membranes ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (12) ◽  
pp. 968
Author(s):  
Zhun Ma ◽  
Lu Zhang ◽  
Ying Liu ◽  
Xiaosheng Ji ◽  
Yuting Xu ◽  
...  

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.


2005 ◽  
Vol 51 (6-7) ◽  
pp. 101-106 ◽  
Author(s):  
J.H. Kweon ◽  
D.F. Lawler

Natural organic matter (NOM) is known to be the worst foulant in the membrane processes, but the complexities of NOM make it difficult to determine its effects on membrane fouling. Therefore, simple organic compounds (surrogates for NOM) were used in this research to investigate the fouling mechanisms in ultrafiltration. Previous research on NOM components in membrane processes indicated that polysaccharides formed an important part of the fouling cake. Three polysaccharides (dextran, alginic acid, and polygalacturonic acid) and a smaller carbohydrate (tannic acid) were evaluated for their removal in softening (the treatment process in the City of Austin). Two polysaccharides (dextran and alginic acid) were selected and further investigated for their effects on membrane fouling. The two raw organic waters (4 mg/L C) showed quite different patterns of flux decline indicating different fouling mechanisms. Softening pretreatment was effective to reduce flux decline of both waters. The SEM images of the fouled membrane clearly showed the shapes of deposited foulants. The high resolution results of the XPS spectra showed substantially different spectra of carbon, C(1s), in the membrane fouled by two raw organic waters. The XPS was beneficial in determining the relative composition of each fouling material on the membrane surface.


2006 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 25-30 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Koh ◽  
M.M. Clark ◽  
K.P. Ishida

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.


1992 ◽  
Vol 25 (10) ◽  
pp. 95-105 ◽  
Author(s):  
N. K. H. Strohwald ◽  
W. R. Ross

The application of the high rate ADUFR (Anaerobic Digestion - Ultrafiltration) process to brewery effluent was investigated over an 80 day test period. Performance data on both the anaerobic digester and ultrafiltration unit is presented. At stabilised conditions, space load rates of 15 kgCOD.m−3.d−1 could be achieved at hydraulic residence times of 0.5-0.8 days, with COD removal efficiencies between 96 and 99%. Linear flow velocity across the membrane surface and suspended solids concentration of the biomass were found to have a substantial effect on ultrafiltration membrane flux. No membrane fouling was experienced throughout the test period and flux values of 10-18 l.m−2.h−1 (LMH) could be maintained without resorting to chemical cleaning. Dormant sludge was reactivated rapidly, after a two month rest period. A space load rate of 8 kgCOD.m−3.d−1 at a retention time of 0.5 days could be reached within seven days from restart.


2006 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. 117-124 ◽  
Author(s):  
H.C. Kim ◽  
J.H. Hong ◽  
S. Lee

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.


2012 ◽  
Vol 66 (11) ◽  
pp. 2291-2298 ◽  
Author(s):  
Meng-Wei Wan ◽  
Cybelle Morales Futalan ◽  
Cheng-Hung Chang ◽  
Chi-Chuah Kan

In this study, the effect of coagulation pretreatment on membrane fouling and ultrasonic cleaning efficiency was investigated using a dead-end polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) microfiltration system. The extent of membrane fouling was examined under different coagulation mechanisms such as charge neutralization (CN), electrostatic patch effect (EPE) and sweep flocculation (SW). Fouling through EPE mechanism provided the greatest flux decline and least permeate flux recovery over CN and SW. EPE produces more stable, smaller and more compact flocs while CN and SW have large, easily degraded and highly-branched structured flocs. The predominant fouling mechanism of EPE, CN and SW is pore blocking, a combination of pore blocking and cake formation, and cake formation, respectively. Better permeate flux recovery is observed with SW over CN and EPE, which implies formation of less dense and more porous cake deposits. The morphology of fouled membranes was examined using scanning electron microscopy (SEM).


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