A variety of surface waters used for drinking water sources were collected from different parts of Japan to investigate a correlation between the concentration of hydrophilic biopolymer (e.g. proteins and polysaccharides) in the feed water and membrane fouling in microfiltration. Hollow-fiber membranes made from polyvinylidene fluoride with a nominal pore size of 0.1 μm were used in the series of experiments involving the constant-flow mode of operation with automatic periodical backwashing. Easily available indexes of water quality, such as dissolved organic carbon, UV absorbance, Ca concentration and turbidity could not explain the degree of fouling encountered in the filtration tests. In contrast, a clear correlation between the concentrations of biopolymers determined by liquid chromatography with organic carbon detection (LC-OCD) and membrane fouling was confirmed in this study. The concentrations of humics exhibited a weak correlation. The impacts of seasonal variation of feed water and coagulant dosage on membrane fouling were also explained well by biopolymer concentrations. Concentrations of biopolymers can be a useful indicator of the fouling potential of feed water in microfiltration.
Reverse osmosis (RO) and nanofiltration (NF) are membrane filtration technologies that are designed to remove solute ions and molecules from a pretreated liquid stream. Well-designed RO/NF units are compact and demand relatively little maintenance, making them an attractive alternative to conventional treatment trains.
Even despite the merits of today’s efficient RO/NF technologies, it pays to understand common pitfalls associated with them. If your facility currently uses RO/NF or is considering purchasing...
Industry, hotels, commercial buildings even private homes in "Hard" water areas are at a disadvantage due to "Scale" formation on devices, particularly those attached to "Hot" water circuits.
A PHE (Plate Heat Exchanger) with a known “Scaling” problem is selected for testing. The attached case study demonstrates how with an “open mind”, even those sceptical of our products capabilities, do not dispute the achieved results. A simple to understand test procedure was followed. Information...
Membrane fouling, defined as the accumulation of particles and organic matter at the surface or in the pores of membranes occurs during membrane filtration. Membrane fouling results in membrane performance loss, i.e. lower rejection values, lower permeate flux and higher pressure drop, which translates into higher operational cost. The extent of fouling depends on the feed quality, operating conditions, membrane characteristics and module design.
Membrane fouling can be divided into three types: hydraulically...
Membrane fouling is considered to be the most serious drawback in wastewater treatment when using membrane bioreactors (MBRs), leading to membrane permeability decrease and efficiency deterioration. This work aims to develop an integrated methodology for membrane fouling control, using powdered activated carbon (PAC), which will enhance the adsorption of soluble microbial products (SMP) and improve membrane filterability, by altering the mixed liquor's characteristics. Reversible fouling was assessed in terms of...
With the purpose of improving the ultrafiltration (UF) efficiency, anionic polyacrylamide (APAM) has been used as a coagulant aid in the flocculation-UF process. In this study, the impact of APAM on UF efficiency has been investigated with regard to membrane fouling, membrane cleaning and effluent quality. The results indicated that the optimal dosage of APAM had positive impacts on membrane fouling control, membrane cleaning and effluent quality. According to the flux decline curve, scanning electron microscopy...
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