The Membrane Fouling Simulator: A practical tool for fouling prediction and control

Vrouwenvelder, Johannes S.; Paassen, J.A.M. van; Wessels, L.P.; Dam, A.F. van; Bakker, Simon

doi:10.1016/j.memsci.2006.03.046

Cited by 198 publications

(110 citation statements)

References 11 publications

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“…For the long-term biofouling experiments, the membrane fouling simulator (MFS) with external dimensions of 0.07 m × 0.20 m × 0.04 m was used [27]. The MFS has shown to be a suitable tool for prediction and characterization of membrane fouling [28][29][30].…”

Section: Long-term Biofouling Experimentsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Miller et al, [44] showed that long-term biofouling studies were representative for practice, while short-term protein and bacterial adhesion tests were not, in agreement with the findings of this study. To evaluate the anti-fouling potential of a modified membrane and/or feed spacer long-term biofilm studies has to be carried out, under representative conditions for practice [6,27,41,44]. In this study eight day runs were performed to evaluate the impact of an amphiphilic coating on biofilm development.…”

Section: Need For Long-term Biofouling Studiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Coating of reverse osmosis membranes with amphiphilic copolymers for biofouling control

Bucs¹,

Linares²,

Siddiqui³

et al. 2017

Desalination and Water Treatment

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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.

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Section: Long-term Biofouling Experimentsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Need For Long-term Biofouling Studiesmentioning

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

“…The feed and permeate sides of the RO membrane are segregated by the feed spacer and the permeate spacer to provide water flow distribution. Both scientific research and RO elements autopsies from industrial practice indicate that the greatest harm caused by biofouling is that the biofilm "jams" the feed spacer and surrounding flow channel of the element, resulting in a rapid increase in the feed-to-concentrate dP, leading to the system shutdown for cleaning purposes [14,16,17].…”

Section: David Publishingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Piloting Study on Biofouling Control of Reverse Osmosis System in Steel Mill Wastewater Reuse

Yang¹,

Arrowood²,

Johnson³

2017

JESE-A

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Abstract:The biofouling of RO (Reverse Osmosis) system is one of the most common problems in highly contaminated demineralization and wastewater reuse system. The biological fouling occurs due to the bacteria growth and proliferation under nutritive environment, resulting in a dramatic increase of dP (differential pressure) in the RO system, which requires frequent system shutdown for cleaning. This paper discusses the effectiveness of low-dP RO element and periodic flushing on the biofouling scheme of industrial steel mill wastewater reuse system. The low-dP RO element is able to provide low RO system dP, which is expressed to be lower biofouling starting point during the industrial system operation. However, the periodic flushing utilizes fresh water to remove the biofilm deposit along with feed channel. The long term operation performance demonstrated strong caustic is effective in removing the biofilm and recovering RO system performance. It is experimentally validated that, in the case of a high biofouling environment, low-dP RO element and periodic flushing is able to extend the cleaning cycles by 36.6% and 11.4%, respectively. Meanwhile, a joint application of both methods is proven to improve the biofouling control and extend the cleaning cycle by 62.5%, as compared to standard RO technology.

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“…So far, these parameters are mainly applied in non-saline waters and still not extensively used in seawater RO plants. Furthermore, inline monitors such as the biofilm monitor and membrane fouling simulator (MFS) have been introduced to measure biofilm formation rate (Vrouwenvelder and van der Kooij, 2001;Vrouwenvelder et al, 2006).…”

Section: Biological Fouling Potential Indexmentioning

confidence: 99%

Seawater reverse osmosis desalination and (harmful) algal blooms

et al. 2015

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The Membrane Fouling Simulator: A practical tool for fouling prediction and control

Cited by 198 publications

References 11 publications

Coating of reverse osmosis membranes with amphiphilic copolymers for biofouling control

Coating of reverse osmosis membranes with amphiphilic copolymers for biofouling control

Piloting Study on Biofouling Control of Reverse Osmosis System in Steel Mill Wastewater Reuse

Seawater reverse osmosis desalination and (harmful) algal blooms

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