Experimental characterization and numerical simulation of the anti-biofuling activity of nanosilver-modified feed spacers in membrane filtration

Ronen, Avner; Lerman, Sofia; Ramon, Guy Z.; Dosoretz, Carlos G.

doi:10.1016/j.memsci.2014.10.042

Cited by 38 publications

(31 citation statements)

References 47 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…Few studies on the application of coated membranes to control fouling reported on the coating stability [6,55,56]. Brzozowska et al [55] observed a weak attachment of polymer brushes to the membrane surface.…”

Section: Coating Stabilitymentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Coating of reverse osmosis membranes with amphiphilic copolymers for biofouling control

Bucs¹,

Linares²,

Siddiqui³

et al. 2017

Desalination and Water Treatment

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

a b s t r a c tSurface coating of membranes may be a promising option to control biofilm development and biofouling impact on membrane performance of spiral-wound reverse osmosis (RO) systems. The objective of this study was to investigate the impact of an amphiphilic copolymer coating on biofilm formation and biofouling control. The coating was composed of both hydrophilic and hydrophobic monomers hydroxyethyl methacrylate (HEMA) and perfluorodecyl acrylate (PFA), respectively. Commercial RO membranes were coated with HEMA-PFA copolymer film. Long and short term biofouling studies with coated and uncoated membranes and feed spacer were performed using membrane fouling simulators (MFSs) operated in parallel, fed with water containing nutrients. For the long-term studies pressure drop development in time was monitored and after eight days the MFSs were opened and the accumulated biofilm on the membrane and spacer sheets was quantified and characterized. The presence of the membrane coating was determined using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). Results showed that the amphiphilic coating (i) delayed biofouling (a lower pressure drop increase by a factor of 3 and a lower accumulated active biomass amount by a factor of 6), (ii) influenced the biofilm composition (23% lower polysaccharides and 132% higher protein content) and (iii) was still completely present on the membrane at the end of the biofouling study, showing that the coating was strongly attached to the membrane surface. Using coated membranes and feed spacers in combination with advanced cleaning strategies may be a suitable way to control biofouling.

show abstract

Section: Coating Stabilitymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Two recently published papers reported the presence of the coating after fouling studies [55,56]. Out of the 30 most cited papers on membrane coating for biofouling control using the Scopus database on 2 November 2015, only one paper reported after a long-term fouling study the presence of coating on the membrane [41].…”

Section: Coating Stabilitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Coating of reverse osmosis membranes with amphiphilic copolymers for biofouling control

Bucs¹,

Linares²,

Siddiqui³

et al. 2017

Desalination and Water Treatment

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Polypropylene (PP) feed spacers were harvested from a commercial 8″-spiral-wound membrane module (Toray) as previously described [14,15]. The feed spacer thickness was about 680 μm with strands intersecting at 90°and an average porosity of about 0.80-0.85.…”

Section: Feed Spacer Modificationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Recently Ronen et al [15] showed that embedding nano-silver (nAg) particles in the spacer's surface resulted in an antibacterial influence, which was able to maintain a high permeate flux. Membrane autopsy using scanning electron microscopy imaging showed a significant decrease in attached bacteria concentration compared to the control after 10 days of flow in harsh conditions.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Biofouling suppression of modified feed spacers: Localized and long-distance antibacterial activity

et al. 2016

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Hydrophilic modification of feed spacer and its impacts on antifouling performance of reverse osmosis membrane

Tan,

Foo,

Lau

et al. 2024

Asia-Pacific J Chem Eng

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Feed spacers improve mixing and mass transfer in membrane modules. However, they also lead to foulant deposition in the vicinity of the spacer surface. In this paper, two hydrophilic monomers, namely, acrylic acid (AA) and 2‐hydroxyethyl methacrylate (HEMA), are respectively coated on the surface of a commercial feed spacer via a plasma‐enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) method. The resulting modified spacers are then evaluated alongside with a reverse osmosis (RO) membrane for its solute rejection, water permeability, and antifouling properties. Results show that the surface hydrophilicity of feed spacers has been enhanced upon the AA and HEMA deposition. During filtration test, the HEMA‐modified spacer demonstrates higher flux recovery rate (94.17%) and salt rejection (95.78%) for the RO membrane. In contrast, the membrane with the unmodified spacer only shows 89.44% and 92.46%, respectively. Additionally, the membrane with the HEMA‐modified spacer has a thinner fouling layer (200 nm) compared to the unmodified spacer (700 nm). The HEMA‐coated spacer outperforms all the tested spacers, demonstrating that feed spacer modification with a hydrophilic monomer via the PECVD method can effectively reduce membrane fouling.

show abstract

Experimental characterization and numerical simulation of the anti-biofuling activity of nanosilver-modified feed spacers in membrane filtration

Cited by 38 publications

References 47 publications

Coating of reverse osmosis membranes with amphiphilic copolymers for biofouling control

Coating of reverse osmosis membranes with amphiphilic copolymers for biofouling control

Biofouling suppression of modified feed spacers: Localized and long-distance antibacterial activity

Hydrophilic modification of feed spacer and its impacts on antifouling performance of reverse osmosis membrane

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About