Fundamental mechanisms of three-component combined fouling with experimental verification

Performance of ceramic ultrafiltration membranes and fouling behavior of a dye-polysaccharide binary system

Ultrafiltration membrane processes have become an established technology in the treatment and reuse of secondary effluents. Nevertheless, membrane fouling arises as a major obstacle in the efficient operation of these systems. In the current study, the performance of tubular ultrafiltration ceramic membranes was evaluated according to the roles exerted by membrane pore size, transmembrane pressure and feed concentration on a binary foulant system simulating textile wastewater. For that purpose, carboxymethyl cellulose sodium salt (CMC) and an azo dye were used as colloidal and organic foulants, respectively. Results showed that a larger pore size enabled more solutes to get adsorbed into the pores, producing a sharp permeate flux decline attributed to the rapid pore blockage. Besides, an increase in CMC concentration enhanced severe fouling in the case of the tighter membrane. Concerning separation efficiency, organic matter was almost completely removed with removal efficiency above 98.5%. Regarding the dye, 93% of rejection was achieved. Comparable removal efficiencies were attributed to the dynamic membrane formed by the cake layer, which governed process performance in terms of rejection and selectivity. As a result, none of the evaluated parameters showed significant influence on separation efficiency, supporting the significant role of cake layer on filtration process.

Simulation of colloidal fouling by coupling a dynamically updating velocity profile and electric field interactions with Force Bias Monte Carlo methods for membrane filtration

Pressure-driven flow through a channel with membrane walls is modeled for high particulate volume fractions of 10%. Particle transport is influenced by Brownian diffusion, shear-induced diffusion, and convection due to the axial crossflow. The particles are also subject to electrostatic double layer repulsion and van der Waals attraction, from both particle-particle and particle-membrane interactions. Force Bias Monte Carlo (FBMC) simulations predict the deposition of the particles onto the membranes, where both hydrodynamics and the change in particle potentials determine the probability that a proposed move is accepted. The particle volume fraction is used to determine an apparent local viscosity observed by the continuum flow. As particles migrate, the crossflow velocity field evolves in quasi-steady fashion with each time instance appearing fully developed in the downstream direction. Particles subject to combined hydrodynamic and electric effects (electrostatic double layer repulsion and van der Waals attraction) reach a more stable steady-state as compared to systems with only hydrodynamic effects considered. As expected, at higher crossflow Reynolds numbers more particles remain in the crossflow free stream.