Location and quantification of biological foulants in a wet membrane structure by cross-sectional confocal laser scanning microscopy

Marroquin, Milagro; Vu, Anh Tuan; Bruce, Terri F.; Powell, Rhonda R.; Wickramasinghe, S. Ranil; Husson, Scott M.

doi:10.1016/j.memsci.2013.11.011

Cited by 30 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 27 publications

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“…This approach was successfully applied to quantitatively investigate the structure of organic fouling layers comprising proteins and polysaccharides in microfiltration [23,24].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Role of pressure in organic fouling in forward osmosis and reverse osmosis

Xie

Lee

Nghiem

et al. 2015

Journal of Membrane Science

179

108

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Fundamental understanding of membrane fouling in osmosis-driven membrane processes is important for further deployment of this emerging technology in desalination and wastewater reuse. In this study, we investigated the role of pressure in organic fouling and reversibility in forward osmosis (FO) and reverse osmosis (RO) using alginate as a model organic foulant. Varying contributions of pressure (i.e., osmotic versus hydraulic) to the overall driving force were realized in forward osmosis (FO), pressure-assisted FO (PFO), and reverse osmosis (RO) experiments, while the same total driving force for water permeation was applied. Confocal laser scanning microscopy was used to examine alginate fouling layer structure in the hydrated state, which informed two key parameters: fouling layer thickness and foulant volume. We observed that the resulting fouling layer became increasingly more compact in the order of FO, PFO, and RO experiments. Fouling layer reversibility followed the same trend, with the highest and lowest reversibility observed for the FO and RO fouling experiments, respectively. Possible mechanisms for fouling layer compaction in RO were discussed, including permeate drag force and foulant compressibility, as opposed to FO where only permeate drag force applies. Our findings suggest that pressure mechanistically alters the membrane fouling layer structure and fouling reversibility, leading to higher fouling reversibility in FO, where the driving force is osmotic pressure, than RO, where the driving force is hydraulic pressure. ABSTRACTFundamental understanding of membrane fouling in osmosis-driven membrane processes is important for further deployment of this emerging technology in desalination and wastewater reuse. In this study, we investigated the role of pressure in organic fouling and reversibility in forward osmosis (FO) and reverse osmosis (RO) using alginate as a model organic foulant.Varying contributions of pressure (i.e., osmotic versus hydraulic) to the overall driving force were realized in forward osmosis (FO), pressure-assisted FO (PFO), and reverse osmosis (RO) experiments, while the same total driving force for water permeation was applied. Confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM) was used to examine alginate fouling layer structure in the hydrated state, which informed two key parameters: fouling layer thickness and foulant volume.We observed that the resulting fouling layer became increasingly more compact in the order of FO, PFO, and RO experiments. Fouling layer reversibility followed the same trend, with the highest and lowest reversibility observed for the FO and RO fouling experiments, respectively.Possible mechanisms for fouling layer compaction in RO were discussed, including permeate drag force and foulant compressibility, as opposed to FO where only permeate drag force applies. Our findings suggest that pressure mechanistically alters the membrane fouling layer structure and fouling reversibility, leading to higher fouling reversibility in FO, where the driving fo...

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“…This approach was successfully applied to quantitatively investigate the structure of organic fouling layers comprising proteins and polysaccharides in microfiltration [23,24].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Role of pressure in organic fouling in forward osmosis and reverse osmosis

Xie

Lee

Nghiem

et al. 2015

Journal of Membrane Science

179

108

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…Overall, the number of fluorescent dots of protein‐like foulants of 1.0% Fe 2 O 3 nanoparticles incorporated PVC membrane was much less and the fluorescent dots area were 2.4 × 10 −8 m 2 (the unmodified membrane was 4.5 × 10 −8 m 2 ), indicating less protein on the surface of 1.0% Fe 2 O 3 nanoparticles incorporated PVC membranes. Marroquin et al . reported that hydrophobic and hydrogen bonding interactions were believed to be responsible for casein adsorption onto the membrane material, which led to membrane fouling and flux declining.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Improving antifouling performance for the harvesting of Scenedesmus acuminatus using Fe₂O₃ nanoparticles incorporated PVC nanocomposite membranes

Liu

Demirel

Chen

et al. 2019

J of Applied Polymer Sci

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Membrane filtration provided a potential solution to get high quality microalgae biomass and recyclable medium. However, the fouling of membrane by microalgae cells and organic matter greatly affects membrane harvesting efficiency. In this study, membrane performance was tested in terms of flux declining and backwashing recovery for microalgal harvesting. Compared with the unmodified poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC) membrane, the membrane with 1.0% Fe2O3 incorporation had a 66% increase in average flux, reaching 138 L m− h−1. Foulants on the membrane surface were characterized using attenuated total reflection‐Fourier transform infrared (ATR‐FTIR) and confocal laser scanning microscope (CLSM), as well as sodium hydroxide extraction followed by total organic carbon (TOC) quantification and fluorescence excitation–emission matrix (FEEM) identification of organic components. FEEM and TOC analysis of the extracted foulants revealed that the surface of 1.0% Fe2O3 incorporated membrane had less fouling than the unmodified PVC membrane, which may be attributed to its hydrophilicity after Fe2O3 incorporation. CLSM analysis and ATR‐FTIR analysis of the fouled membrane surface further revealed that the protein substance on the 1.0% Fe2O3 incorporated PVC membrane was lower than those in the unmodified membrane, which further confirmed the enhanced antifouling performance of the 1.0% Fe2O3 incorporated PVC membrane. © 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2019, 136, 47685.

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“…Marroquin et al [43] developed a methodology to overcome this limitation by sectioning the membrane samples parallel to the z-axis, to give flat cross-section layers that could be analyzed with CLSM. This method has been used to obtain information on fouling caused by a protein (casein) and a polysaccharide (dextran) filtered with a MF polyethersulfone (PES) membrane [44]. Off-line CLSM membrane characterization has also been used by Gao et al [45] in an attempt to understand the mechanisms governing the adsorption of organic matter on aged polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) membranes.…”

Section: Confocal Laser Scanning Microscopymentioning

confidence: 99%

A review of in situ real-time monitoring techniques for membrane fouling in the biotechnology, biorefinery and food sectors

Rudolph

Virtanen

Ferrando

et al. 2019

Journal of Membrane Science

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Pressure-driven membrane processes are often used for the separation and purification of organic compounds originating from biomass. However, membrane fouling remains a challenge as these biobased streams have a very complex composition and comprise a high fouling tendency. Conventional, the fouling is monitored based on either a decrease in flux or an increase in pressure over time. Those conventional techniques provide no information on the location, composition or amount of fouling. As fouling is often cumulative, it will be detected as a loss of performance. Once fouling becomes irreversible, it is often not possible to clean the membrane without chemicals and the filtration/separation process has to be stopped eventually. In situ real-time monitoring of membrane fouling could provide dynamic information on the development of fouling, allowing optimization of the process. This paper reviews the state of the art in in situ monitoring techniques that could be applied to membrane processes in the biotechnology, biorefinery and food sectors and briefly reflects on the current awareness of in situ monitoring techniques among experienced industrial users of membrane processes. The physical principles as well as the strengths and weaknesses are addressed, and potentially, promising techniques are identified.

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Location and quantification of biological foulants in a wet membrane structure by cross-sectional confocal laser scanning microscopy

Cited by 30 publications

References 27 publications

Role of pressure in organic fouling in forward osmosis and reverse osmosis

Role of pressure in organic fouling in forward osmosis and reverse osmosis

Improving antifouling performance for the harvesting of Scenedesmus acuminatus using Fe₂O₃ nanoparticles incorporated PVC nanocomposite membranes

A review of in situ real-time monitoring techniques for membrane fouling in the biotechnology, biorefinery and food sectors

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Location and quantification of biological foulants in a wet membrane structure by cross-sectional confocal laser scanning microscopy

Cited by 30 publications

References 27 publications

Role of pressure in organic fouling in forward osmosis and reverse osmosis

Role of pressure in organic fouling in forward osmosis and reverse osmosis

Improving antifouling performance for the harvesting of Scenedesmus acuminatus using Fe2O3 nanoparticles incorporated PVC nanocomposite membranes

A review of in situ real-time monitoring techniques for membrane fouling in the biotechnology, biorefinery and food sectors

Contact Info

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Resources

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Improving antifouling performance for the harvesting of Scenedesmus acuminatus using Fe₂O₃ nanoparticles incorporated PVC nanocomposite membranes