In-situ monitoring of biofouling on reverse osmosis membranes: Detection and mechanistic study using electrical impedance spectroscopy

Ho, JS; Low, JH; Sim, LN; Webster, RD; Rice, SA; Fane, AG; Coster, HGL

In-situ monitoring of biofouling on reverse osmosis membranes: Detection and mechanistic study using electrical impedance spectroscopy

Ho, JS Low, JH Sim, LN Webster, RD Rice, SA

Fane, AG Coster, HGL

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Publication Type:: Journal Article
Citation:: Journal of Membrane Science, 2016, 518 pp. 229 - 242
Issue Date:: 2016-11-15

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Field	Value	Language
dc.contributor.author	Ho, JS	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Low, JH	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Sim, LN	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Webster, RD	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Rice, SA https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9486-2343	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Fane, AG	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Coster, HGL	en_US
dc.date.issued	2016-11-15	en_US
dc.identifier.citation	Journal of Membrane Science, 2016, 518 pp. 229 - 242	en_US
dc.identifier.issn	0376-7388	en_US
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/10453/101673
dc.description.abstract	© 2016 Elsevier B.V. Electrical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) was employed to monitor biofilm formation on the membrane surface in-situ and non-invasively. An EIS-derived parameter, the normalized conductance of the diffusion polarization (GDP) layer showed two stages of biofilm formation. The first stage was related to the accumulation of bacterial cells and the formation of the respiration products from the bacteria. The second stage referred to the accumulation of the extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) which was the main component for the formation of the biofilm matrix. The effect of a biostat, sodium azide was also investigated and its presence slowed down the growth of bacteria and caused the partial detachment of bacteria from the membrane surface. Sodium azide's effects were also reflected in the normalized GDP plot. The sustainable flux, at which the fouling was minimal, could be estimated from the rate of change of the initial increase of the normalized GDP with respect to flux. Conventional monitoring methods such as transmembrane pressure (TMP) or autopsy by confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM) on their own gave little insights into the mechanisms of the biofilm formation. This study demonstrates the ability of EIS to be incorporated into a “canary” cell located in a side stream of the high pressure membrane vessel for the monitoring of biofouling as well as for the assessment of the cleaning efficiency in a water treatment plant.	en_US
dc.relation.ispartof	Journal of Membrane Science	en_US
dc.relation.isbasedon	10.1016/j.memsci.2016.06.043	en_US
dc.subject.classification	Chemical Engineering	en_US
dc.title	In-situ monitoring of biofouling on reverse osmosis membranes: Detection and mechanistic study using electrical impedance spectroscopy	en_US
dc.type	Journal Article
utslib.citation.volume	518	en_US
utslib.for	03 Chemical Sciences	en_US
utslib.for	09 Engineering	en_US
pubs.embargo.period	Not known	en_US
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/Faculty of Science
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/Strength - ithree - Institute of Infection, Immunity and Innovation
utslib.copyright.status	closed_access
pubs.publication-status	Published	en_US
pubs.volume	518	en_US

Abstract:

© 2016 Elsevier B.V. Electrical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) was employed to monitor biofilm formation on the membrane surface in-situ and non-invasively. An EIS-derived parameter, the normalized conductance of the diffusion polarization (GDP) layer showed two stages of biofilm formation. The first stage was related to the accumulation of bacterial cells and the formation of the respiration products from the bacteria. The second stage referred to the accumulation of the extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) which was the main component for the formation of the biofilm matrix. The effect of a biostat, sodium azide was also investigated and its presence slowed down the growth of bacteria and caused the partial detachment of bacteria from the membrane surface. Sodium azide's effects were also reflected in the normalized GDP plot. The sustainable flux, at which the fouling was minimal, could be estimated from the rate of change of the initial increase of the normalized GDP with respect to flux. Conventional monitoring methods such as transmembrane pressure (TMP) or autopsy by confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM) on their own gave little insights into the mechanisms of the biofilm formation. This study demonstrates the ability of EIS to be incorporated into a “canary” cell located in a side stream of the high pressure membrane vessel for the monitoring of biofouling as well as for the assessment of the cleaning efficiency in a water treatment plant.

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http://hdl.handle.net/10453/101673