Membrane fouling control through aggregate design and trans-membrane pressure selection

2002 ◽  
Vol 2 (5-6) ◽  
pp. 337-343 ◽  
Author(s):  
S.A. Lee ◽  
T.D. Waite ◽  
A.G. Fane ◽  
R. Amal
Keyword(s):  
Fractal Dimension ◽  
Membrane Fouling ◽  
Size Dependence ◽  
Operating Conditions ◽  
Size Analysis ◽  
Permeate Flux ◽  
Cake Layer ◽  
Cake Porosity ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Highly Porous

Treatment of waters and wastewaters by microfiltration (MF) requires the addition of chemical coagulants to enhance the removal of dissolved substances. Under these conditions the feed to the MF contains flocculated particulates which must be retained by the membrane. While an extensive knowledge base on the effect of dispersed particles on membrane cake formation and fouling exists, much less information is available on the impact of aggregates on cake characteristics. Results of impact of the size and structure (as characterized by the fractal dimension) of particulate aggregates on microfiltration membrane fouling are in qualitative agreement with a simple model based on the Carman-Kozeny equation. Larger flocs form a cake with large inter-floc porosity which results in a significantly higher permeate flux than achieved for smaller flocs. Concomitantly, looser flocs (of low fractal dimension) are likely to form a cake that has higher intra-floc voidage thus flux is higher than a cake made of compact flocs of similar size. Analysis of cake compression indicates that compressibility is strongly influenced by trans-membrane pressure (TMP). The placement of highly porous aggregates onto the membrane results in formation of a highly porous cake layer provided a low TMP is maintained. Rapid compression of the cake occurs at higher TMPs as shown by the significantly lower porosity of the cake. Under high TMP conditions, the cake porosity exhibits a strong size dependence with larger floc sizes yielding higher porosities. This result possibly indicates formation of relatively impermeable assemblages (as a result of significant compaction) with flux controlled by inter-aggregate flow, i.e. flow around compressed flocs. In comparison, the marked lack of size dependence of porosity at low TMP suggests that permeate flux is dominated by flow through (rather than around) the highly permeable flocs. These results suggest that it should be possible to control both operating conditions (such as TMP) and floc characteristics such that high permeate flux at a given TMP or low cake resistance at a fixed flux is achievable.

scholarly journals Application of Coagulation–Membrane Rotation to Improve Ultrafiltration Performance in Drinking Water Treatment

Membranes ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (8) ◽  
pp. 643
Author(s):  
Hongjian Yu ◽  
Weipeng Huang ◽  
Huachen Liu ◽  
Tian Li ◽  
Nianping Chi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Shear Stress ◽  
Drinking Water ◽  
Water Treatment ◽  
Membrane Fouling ◽  
Membrane Filtration ◽  
Drinking Water Treatment ◽  
Permeate Flux ◽  
Organic Removal ◽  
Cake Layer ◽  
The Impact

The combination of conventional and advanced water treatment is now widely used in drinking water treatment. However, membrane fouling is still the main obstacle to extend its application. In this study, the impact of the combination of coagulation and ultrafiltration (UF) membrane rotation on both fouling control and organic removal of macro (sodium alginate, SA) and micro organic matters (tannic acid, TA) was studied comprehensively to evaluate its applicability in drinking water treatment. The results indicated that membrane rotation could generate shear stress and vortex, thus effectively reducing membrane fouling of both SA and TA solutions, especially for macro SA organics. With additional coagulation, the membrane fouling could be further reduced through the aggregation of mediate and macro organic substances into flocs and elimination by membrane retention. For example, with the membrane rotation speed of 60 r/min, the permeate flux increased by 90% and the organic removal by 35% in SA solution, with 40 mg/L coagulant dosage, with an additional 70% increase of flux and 5% increment of organic removal to 80% obtained. However, too much shear stress could intensify the potential of fiber breakage at the potting, destroying the flocs and resulting in the reduction of permeate flux and deterioration of effluent quality. Finally, the combination of coagulation and membrane rotation would lead to the shaking of the cake layer, which is beneficial for fouling mitigation and prolongation of membrane filtration lifetime. This study provides useful information on applying the combined process of conventional coagulation and the hydrodynamic shear force for drinking water treatment, which can be further explored in the future.

scholarly journals Numerical simulation of filtration performance in submerged membrane bioreactors: effect of particle packed structure

2017 ◽  
Vol 76 (9) ◽  
pp. 2503-2514 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhidong Wang ◽  
Kuizu Su ◽  
Tong Shu ◽  
Weihong Wang
Keyword(s):  
Membrane Surface ◽  
Membrane Bioreactors ◽  
Navier Stokes ◽  
Permeate Flux ◽  
The Finite Element Method ◽  
Brinkman Equations ◽  
Filtration Performance ◽  
Cake Layer ◽  
Packed Structure ◽  
Cake Porosity

Abstract It is widely known that the accumulation of solid matter forming a cake layer on the membrane surface is one of the major limitations of the filtration performance in submerged membrane bioreactors (SMBR). This study is focused on the influence of the cake porosity of different particle microscopic packed structures on the filtration performance of hollow fiber systems. An integrated model based on the finite element method to simulate numerically the flow in an SMBR is presented. The model coupled the Navier–Stokes and Darcy Brinkman equations to simulate a complete filtration run. The cake growth took into consideration not only the deposition with local filtration velocity but also the effect of aeration scouring. A novel solution of mesh deformation was adopted to investigate transient cake growth along the fiber. Comparisons between simulations and experiments are in good agreement. The results show that a higher porosity particle packed structure causes non-uniform filtration and cake thickness but also higher permeate flux. Meanwhile, the proportion of cake resistance to total resistance increases with the decrease of porosity.

A review on membrane applications and transport mechanisms in vacuum membrane distillation

2017 ◽  
Vol 34 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Rakesh Baghel ◽  
Sushant Upadhyaya ◽  
Kailash Singh ◽  
Satyendra P. Chaurasia ◽  
Akhilendra B. Gupta ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Membrane Fouling ◽  
Membrane Separation ◽  
Critical Evaluation ◽  
Experimental Studies ◽  
Membrane Distillation ◽  
Permeate Flux ◽  
Separation Processes ◽  
Vacuum Membrane Distillation ◽  
Polarization Coefficient ◽  
The Impact

AbstractThe main aim of this article is to provide a state-of-the-art review of the experimental studies on vacuum membrane distillation (VMD) process. An introduction to the history of VMD is carried out along with the other membrane distillation configurations. Recent developments in process, characterization of membrane, module design, transport phenomena, and effect of operating parameters on permeate flux are discussed for VMD in detail. Several heat and mass transfer correlations obtained by various researchers for different VMD modules have been discussed. The impact of membrane fouling with its control in VMD is discussed in detail. In this paper, temperature polarization coefficient and concentration polarization coefficient are elaborated in detail. Integration of VMD with other membrane separation processes/industrial processes have been explained to improve the performance of the system and make it more energy efficient. A critical evaluation of the VMD literature is incorporated throughout this review.

scholarly journals Effects of tannic acid on membrane fouling and membrane cleaning in forward osmosis

2017 ◽  
Vol 76 (11) ◽  
pp. 3160-3170 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wanzhu Zhang ◽  
Lin Wang ◽  
Bingzhi Dong
Keyword(s):  
Tannic Acid ◽  
Calcium Ions ◽  
Membrane Fouling ◽  
Driving Forces ◽  
Forward Osmosis ◽  
Operating Conditions ◽  
Permeate Flux ◽  
Membrane Cleaning ◽  
Draw Solution ◽  
Cleaning Methods

Abstract The fouling behavior during forward osmosis (FO) was investigated. Tannic acid was used as a model organic foulant for natural organic matter analysis since the main characteristics are similar, and calcium ions were added at different concentrations to explore the anti-pollution capability of FO membranes. The initial permeate flux and calcium ions strength were varied in different operating conditions to describe membrane fouling with membrane cleaning methods. The observed flux decline in FO changed dramatically with the type of foulant and the type of draw solution used to provide the osmotic driving force. Calcium ions aggravated membrane fouling and decreased transmembrane flux. Membrane cleaning methods included physical and physicochemical approaches, and there was no obvious difference among the typical cleaning methods (i.e., membrane flushing with different types of cleaning fluids at various crossflow velocities and backwashing with varying osmotic driving forces) with respect to flux recovery. Ultrasonic cleaning damaged the membrane structure and decreased permeate flux, and reverse diffusion of salt from the draw solution to the feed side accelerated after cleaning.

The role of shear conditions on floc characteristics and membrane fouling in coagulation/ultrafiltration hybrid process – the effect of flocculation duration and slow shear force

RSC Advances ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 163-173 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jun Nan ◽  
Meng Yao ◽  
Qinggui Li ◽  
Dan Zhan ◽  
Ting Chen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Membrane Fouling ◽  
Shear Force ◽  
Hybrid Process ◽  
Permeate Flux ◽  
Floc Characteristics ◽  
The Impact

The impact of shear conditions during coagulation on the ultrafiltration permeate flux in a coagulation–ultrafiltration (C–UF) process was investigated.

scholarly journals Membrane Filtration of Anionic Surfactant Stabilized Emulsions: Effect of Ionic Strength on Fouling and Droplet Adhesion

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Janneke Dickhout ◽  
Rob Lammertink ◽  
Wiebe de Vos
Keyword(s):  
Ionic Strength ◽  
Anionic Surfactant ◽  
Membrane Fouling ◽  
Flow Cell ◽  
Cellulose Membrane ◽  
Oil Droplets ◽  
Flux Decline ◽  
Cake Layer ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Cellulose Surface

Membranes hold great potential to be used for the successful treatment of oily waste water, but membrane fouling leads to substantial decreases in performance. Here we study the impact of ionic strength on membrane fouling from an emulsion stabilized by the anionic surfactant sodium dodecyl sulfonate (SDS). For this we use a unique combinatorial approach where droplet adhesion to a cellulose surface in a flow cell is compared to membrane fouling (flux decline) on a cellulose membrane. In the initial membrane fouling stages droplet adhesion dominates. While the flow cell demonstrates a high number of droplets adhering especially at high ionic strengths (100 mM NaCl), the strongest flux decline is observed at intermediate (10 mM NaCl) ionic strength. This suggests that the fouling mechanism must be different, with pore blocking expecting to dominate at intermediate ionic strength. At the later fouling stages the porosity of the cake layer plays a key role in the flux reduction. At low ionic strength, oil droplets repel each other strongly and an open, more permeable, cake layer is formed. However at higher ionic strength, a screening of charge interactions leads to a lower porosity and thereby a lower flux. This leads to a clear trend: with a higher ionic strength a higher flux decline is observed. Flux recovery is high at all ionic strengths, in line with the observation in the flow cell that oil droplets can easily be sheared of a cellulose surface at all ionic strengths. This work thus highlights the critical effect of the ionic strength on membrane fouling by anionically stabilized emulsions. Moreover it shows how the use of an optical flow cell can provide key insights to help explain observations in more standard membrane fouling experiments.

Comparative investigation on the impact of polymeric substances on membrane fouling during sub-critical and critical flux operation of a municipal membrane bioreactor

2008 ◽  
Vol 58 (9) ◽  
pp. 1849-1855 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Lyko ◽  
T. Wintgens ◽  
T. Melin
Keyword(s):  
Membrane Fouling ◽  
Pilot Scale ◽  
Comparative Investigation ◽  
Hollow Fibre ◽  
Size Exclusion ◽  
Dominant Factor ◽  
Permeate Flux ◽  
Critical Flux ◽  
Operational Conditions ◽  
The Impact

Soluble organic macromolecules are ubiquitous in activated sludge supernatant. For the operation of membrane bioreactors (MBR) this group of substances is considered as the dominant factor causing severe membrane fouling due to the concentration polarisation phenomenon. The well established critical flux concept for the characterisation of membrane bioreactor's operation limits is based on filtration data only. As there is an cause-and-effect relation between the partial retention of organic compounds and the limited flux according the critical flux concept the aim of this study was to draw a comparison between different permeate fluxes on the retention of organic macromolecules. Thus, a municipal pilot-scale MBR with three capillary hollow fibre membrane modules was operated in sub critical, critical and supercritical flux mode, respectively and the retention of macromolecules was quantified by size exclusion chromatography. Three permeate extraction pumps allow a simultaneous operation with different operational conditions for each membrane module and proved the crucial impact of permeate flux on the fouling rate. The interchange of these conditions gave evidence of an optimised start-up procedure for MBRs characterised by higher permeate fluxes. An increased flux causes both a higher retention of soluble macromolecules and subsequent a higher fouling rate.

scholarly journals Performance of an indigenous integrated slurry photocatalytic membrane reactor (PMR) on the removal of aqueous phenanthrene (PHE)

2018 ◽  
Vol 77 (11) ◽  
pp. 2642-2656 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. Nirmala Rani ◽  
S. Karthikeyan
Keyword(s):  
Membrane Fouling ◽  
Membrane Reactor ◽  
Membrane Surface ◽  
Continuous Process ◽  
Permeate Flux ◽  
Toc Removal ◽  
Recovery Potential ◽  
Cake Layer ◽  
Alkaline Conditions ◽  
Photocatalytic Membrane Reactor

Abstract In this study, a slurry photocatalytic membrane reactor (PMR) was developed and evaluated for the degradation of aqueous phenanthrene (PHE). During continuous process with a hydraulic retention time (HRT) of 140 min, the maximum PHE degradation and total organic carbon (TOC) removal efficiencies were found to be 97% and 79%, respectively. The reuse and recovery potential of TiO2 was studied with continuous recycling. The major intermediates during photodegradation of PHE were found to be phenanthrenequinone, phenanthenol and fluorine. This study also includes an investigation of membrane fouling caused by hydrophilic nano TiO2. The cake layer observed on the membrane surface was characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM) and energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS). In addition, the effect of operating parameters such as pH and permeate flux on membrane fouling were also investigated. Low permeate flux and alkaline conditions reduced membrane fouling.

scholarly journals Bench-scale study of ultrafiltration membranes for evaluating membrane performance in surface water treatment

2016 ◽  
Vol 51 (2) ◽  
pp. 128-140 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dillon A. Waterman ◽  
Steven Walker ◽  
Bingjie Xu ◽  
Roberto M. Narbaitz
Keyword(s):  
Hollow Fiber ◽  
Membrane Fouling ◽  
Organic Matter Content ◽  
Operating Conditions ◽  
Cycle Duration ◽  
Operational Parameters ◽  
Constant Flux ◽  
Bench Scale ◽  
Membrane Performance ◽  
The Impact

Currently, there is no standard bench-scale dead-end ultrafiltration (UF) testing system. The aim of the present study was to design and build a bench-scale hollow fiber UF system to assess the impact of operational parameters on membrane performance and fouling. A bench-scale hollow fiber UF system was built to operate at a constant flux (±2% of the set-point flux) and included automated backwash cycles. The development of the bench-scale system showed that it is very difficult to maintain a constant flux during the first minute of the filtration cycles, that digital flow meters are problematic, and that the volume of the backwash waste lines should be minimized. The system was evaluated with Ottawa River water, which has a relatively high hydrophobic natural organic matter content and is typical of Northern Canadian waters. The testing using different permeate fluxes, filtration cycle duration and backwash cycle duration showed that this system mimics the performance of larger systems and may be used to assess the impact of operating conditions on membrane fouling and alternative pretreatment options. Modeling the first, middle, and last filtration cycles of the six runs using single and dual blocking mechanisms yielded inconsistent results regarding the controlling fouling mechanisms.

scholarly journals Studies of polypropylene membrane fouling during microfiltration of broth with Citrobacter freundii bacteria

2015 ◽  
Vol 17 (4) ◽  
pp. 56-64 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marek Gryta ◽  
Marta Waszak ◽  
Maria Tomaszewska
Keyword(s):  
Membrane Fouling ◽  
Membrane Surface ◽  
Transmembrane Pressure ◽  
Citrobacter Freundii ◽  
Permeate Flux ◽  
Process Duration ◽  
Polypropylene Membrane ◽  
Flux Decline ◽  
Cake Layer ◽  
Scanning Electron

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.

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