Novel grafting method efficiently decreases irreversible fouling of ceramic nanofiltration membranes

Aqueous or solvent based surface modification: The influence of the combination solvent – organic functional group on the surface characteristics of titanium dioxide grafted with organophosphonic acids

“…However, many applications can also benefit from short alkyl groups, e.g. membranes functionalized with small organic groups show interesting properties for water filtration [27].…”

Sonochemical control of fouling formation in membrane ultrafiltration of wastewater: Effect of ultrasonic frequency

“…Although the cost of the membranes has decreased, the high operating costs, needed to maintain the permeate flux and avoid the decline in system performance, remain a critical issue [7]. The main fouling mechanisms consist in: pore constriction due to the adsorption of fouling agents onto the pore walls, pore blocking at the surface of the membranes and the formation of a fouling layer, defined as cake layer, made up of macromolecules and colloids which forms a dense viscous gel layer on the membrane surface [8].…”

“…Feed properties (particle size, particle concentration, pH, ionic strength), membrane surface characteristics (hydrophobicity, charge, pore size) and hydrodynamics of the membrane process (cross-flow velocity, transmembrane pressure) are the factors affecting the membrane fouling [9]. Therefore, it may be possible to prevent and limit fouling by the optimization of feed pre-treatment, regular physical and/or chemical membrane cleaning and a selection of the appropriate membrane material, module design and operating and process conditions [7].…”

Chemical modification/grafting of mesoporous alumina with polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS)

“…Grafting polymers on ceramic membranes offers the opportunity to tailor and manipulate interfacial properties, while retaining the mechanical strength and geometry of the supported ceramic material. Several types of molecules can be used for modification of inorganic materials, for instance phosphate derivatives [4][5][6], chlorosilanes and alkoxysilanes [2,3,7,8], polysiloxanes [9] and Grignard reactants [10]. The strategy employed in this paper, is grafting with polydimethylsiloxanes.…”