Biofouling in reverse osmosis processes: The roles of flux, crossflow velocity and concentration polarization in biofilm development

Suwarno, SR; Chen, X; Chong, TH; McDougald, D; Cohen, Y; Rice, SA; Fane, AG

Biofouling in reverse osmosis processes: The roles of flux, crossflow velocity and concentration polarization in biofilm development

Suwarno, SR Chen, X Chong, TH McDougald, D

Cohen, Y Rice, SA

Fane, AG

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Publication Type:: Journal Article
Citation:: Journal of Membrane Science, 2014, 467 pp. 116 - 125
Issue Date:: 2014-10-01

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Field	Value	Language
dc.contributor.author	Suwarno, SR	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Chen, X	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Chong, TH	en_US
dc.contributor.author	McDougald, D https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5827-8441	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Cohen, Y	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Rice, SA https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9486-2343	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Fane, AG	en_US
dc.date.issued	2014-10-01	en_US
dc.identifier.citation	Journal of Membrane Science, 2014, 467 pp. 116 - 125	en_US
dc.identifier.issn	0376-7388	en_US
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/10453/115731
dc.description.abstract	Biofilm development in a spacer-filled reverse osmosis membrane channel can influence both trans-membrane pressure (TMP) and channel pressure drop (δPCH). While current pretreatment methods are unable to completely tackle the biofouling problem, more insights are required to provide strategies to minimize the problem. This study examined the role of operating parameters (i.e. flux and crossflow velocity) to minimize biofouling in RO processes. The experiments were conducted with a lab-scale high pressure flat sheet RO reactor where changes in pressure drop along the channel and across the membrane were measured. The impact of biofouling was measured at constant fluxes, where the TMP rise and δPCH rise and the biofoulant was quantified as biovolumes of live and dead bacteria on autopsied membrane and spacer samples by confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM).The results show that TMP rise increased exponentially with increasing flux, and decreased with increasing crossflow velocity. The channel pressure drop, δPCH, increased when either flux or crossflow velocity was increased, and was more dependent on crossflow. The biofoulant volume on the membrane increased with flux and was less dependent on crossflow. The biofoulant associated with the spacer was much less than on the membrane and relatively insensitive to flux or crossflow velocity.The TMP rise could be correlated with the estimated concentration of nutrient at the membrane surface, Cw,N, highlighting the combined roles of flux and crossflow velocity in solute concentration polarization. Previous TMP rise data could also be correlated to the estimated Cw,N values. This observation suggests a biofouling mitigation strategy by controlling both incoming nutrient concentration and operating conditions (flux and crossflow). © 2014 Elsevier B.V.	en_US
dc.relation.ispartof	Journal of Membrane Science	en_US
dc.relation.isbasedon	10.1016/j.memsci.2014.04.052	en_US
dc.subject.classification	Chemical Engineering	en_US
dc.title	Biofouling in reverse osmosis processes: The roles of flux, crossflow velocity and concentration polarization in biofilm development	en_US
dc.type	Journal Article
utslib.citation.volume	467	en_US
utslib.for	0605 Microbiology	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	467	en_US

Abstract:

Biofilm development in a spacer-filled reverse osmosis membrane channel can influence both trans-membrane pressure (TMP) and channel pressure drop (δPCH). While current pretreatment methods are unable to completely tackle the biofouling problem, more insights are required to provide strategies to minimize the problem. This study examined the role of operating parameters (i.e. flux and crossflow velocity) to minimize biofouling in RO processes. The experiments were conducted with a lab-scale high pressure flat sheet RO reactor where changes in pressure drop along the channel and across the membrane were measured. The impact of biofouling was measured at constant fluxes, where the TMP rise and δPCH rise and the biofoulant was quantified as biovolumes of live and dead bacteria on autopsied membrane and spacer samples by confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM).The results show that TMP rise increased exponentially with increasing flux, and decreased with increasing crossflow velocity. The channel pressure drop, δPCH, increased when either flux or crossflow velocity was increased, and was more dependent on crossflow. The biofoulant volume on the membrane increased with flux and was less dependent on crossflow. The biofoulant associated with the spacer was much less than on the membrane and relatively insensitive to flux or crossflow velocity.The TMP rise could be correlated with the estimated concentration of nutrient at the membrane surface, Cw,N, highlighting the combined roles of flux and crossflow velocity in solute concentration polarization. Previous TMP rise data could also be correlated to the estimated Cw,N values. This observation suggests a biofouling mitigation strategy by controlling both incoming nutrient concentration and operating conditions (flux and crossflow). © 2014 Elsevier B.V.

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http://hdl.handle.net/10453/115731