Membrane Surface Patterning as a Fouling Mitigation Strategy in Liquid Filtration: A Review

Abstract

Membrane fouling is seen as the main culprit that hinders the widespread of membrane application in liquid-based filtration. Therefore, fouling management is key for the successful implementation of membrane processes, and it is done across all magnitudes. For optimum operation, membrane developments and surface modifications have largely been reported, including membrane surface patterning. Membrane surface patterning involves structural modification of the membrane surface to induce secondary flow due to eddies, which mitigate foulant agglomeration and increase the effective surface area for improved permeance and antifouling properties. This paper reviews surface patterning approaches used for fouling mitigation in water and wastewater treatments. The focus is given on the pattern formation methods and their effect on overall process performances.

Patterned Membrane in an Energy-Efficient Tilted Panel Filtration System for Fouling Control in Activated Sludge Filtration

“…The results confirm the efficacy of the imprinting technique in forming a surface pattern as reported earlier [23]. It is widely reported that surface corrugation offers improvement for mass transport, reduction in membrane fouling formation, and improved energy consumption [29].…”

“…The underlying mechanisms for formation of such structure have been detailed elsewhere [30]. This study focuses only on the mutual effect of surface corrugation and a tilted panel in enhancing hydraulic performance [29]. Nonetheless, it is worth noting that the changes in structural properties due to the imprinting step make it difficult to decouple the sole effect of surface corrugation compounded with other properties on the hydraulic performance [33].…”

“…The pattern on top of the membrane surface introduces periodic resistance to the axial flow, which promotes mixing in the boundary layer created at the membrane surface due to the formation of fluid eddies, which increase the turbulence, friction, and pressure drop [27,28]. This would be expected to reduce the membrane fouling and improve the hydraulic performance [29,30]. Previous studies focused on exploiting a single approach (i.e., tilting the panel, forming surface corrugation, etc.)…”

Two-Step Dopamine-to-Polydopamine Modification of Polyethersulfone Ultrafiltration Membrane for Enhancing Anti-Fouling and Ultraviolet Resistant Properties

“…In membrane fabrication, numerous surface modification techniques such as surface patterning [ 19 , 20 , 21 ], polymer blending [ 17 , 22 , 23 , 24 ], and surface coating [ 25 ] have been applied to enhance the membrane properties in reducing its fouling propensity. The surface coating method is popular to fabricate membranes used in a photocatalytic reactor, in which PDA can act as a medium for binding photocatalyst components that otherwise cannot be deposited directly on the membrane surface [ 26 ].…”

Durability and Recoverability of Soft Lithographically Patterned Hydrogel Molds for the Formation of Phase Separation Membranes

“…As an alternative to coatings and surface treatments, membrane surface patterning has recently attracted attention [18,19]. Tailoring the topographical surface of a polymer membrane can theoretically increase the effective surface area, which is directly proportional to the permeate flux.…”