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Membrane fouling continues to hamper the performance of membrane‐filtration processes. A challenge with macromolecular foulants like proteins is that macroscopic characterizations, like net electrical charge, may be poorly correlated with membrane fouling. This necessitates a molecular‐scale analysis of the local interactions. In this study, molecular dynamics simulations have been performed to understand the interactions between two similar‐sized proteins with opposite overall charges (namely, lysozyme and α‐lactalbumin) and a negative‐charged membrane. Surprisingly, the protein–membrane distances and adsorption probabilities of both proteins are similar. Compared with the positive‐charged lysozyme, the negative‐charged α‐lactalbumin exhibits (a) greater protein–membrane attractive interaction energy due to synergy among adsorption sites; (b) lower root‐mean‐squared deviations (RMSD); and (c) greater number of residues that show low root‐mean‐squared fluctuations (RMSF). These results indicate that local interactions are critical and thus highlight the pitfall of using the overall protein characteristics as predictors of membrane fouling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The utilization of osmosis for engineered applications sparked off various emerging technologies relying on osmotically driven membrane processes (ODMPs). Represented by forward osmosis (FO) and pressure retarded osmosis (PRO), ODMPs show great promise to leverage the global water-energy nexus and have drawn considerable attention in recent years. However, their performance in practical applications is significantly affected by membrane fouling. Membrane fouling is a complex problem and is associated with the foulant deposition, concentration polarization and reverse solute diffusion (RSD) in ODMPs. The current paper provides a comprehensive review on membrane fouling in ODMPs with a focus on the elaboration of the factors and mechanisms governing the fouling behavior. Among those fouling factors and mechanisms, some are also applicable for pressure-driven membrane processes (e.g., reverse osmosis (RO) and nanofiltration (NF)), such as the effects of hydrodynamic conditions, feedwater composition, and membrane material and properties, and the cake-enhanced concentration polarization (CE-CP) mechanism. Others are unique for ODMPs, such as the effects of draw solution composition and membrane orientation, the internal concentration polarization (ICP) self-compensation effect, and the RSD-enhanced fouling. A general osmotic-resistance filtration model for ODMPs is presented in this paper to assist in the interpretation of the intrinsic interrelationships among those fouling factors and mechanisms. The impact and mechanisms of membrane fouling on contaminates removal are also reviewed briefly based on the limited existing literature on this topic. Finally, the available membrane fouling control strategies for ODMPs are summarized upon understanding the cause and effect of fouling. Based on the current review, future research prospects are proposed for further studying the membrane fouling in ODMPs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In view of the proliferating applications involving membrane-based separation, the inevitable membrane fouling phenomenon is well-studied. However, the influence of foulant shape on membrane fouling remained incompletely understood. Therefore, the goal of this study was to investigate the fouling behaviors by three different shapes of latex particles (namely, peanut, pear and sphere) with similar mean diameters in the range of 3.5–3.8 μm. External and internal fouling were studied using polycarbonate track-etched (PCTE) membranes with nominal pore sizes of 2 and 8 μm, respectively. Flux data were taken, and fouling models, optical coherence tomography (OCT) and field-emission scanning electron microscope were employed. Regarding external membrane fouling, the sphere-shaped particles displayed the worst flux decline, which is tied to the greatest tendency to deposit on the membrane pores, as revealed by the network fouling model. As for internal fouling, the flux decline curves were more similar among the particle types. The fouling model shows the sphere-shaped particles gave the densest internal cake, which caused slightly steeper flux decline in the latter part of the filtration. Furthermore, OCT indicates that the highest fouling fractions at 7.5 μm below the membrane were exhibited for the peanut-shaped particles, which is due to the preferential vertical orientation resulting in deeper penetration. Results here highlight the non-negligible influence of foulant particle shape, which warrants further understanding and accounting for membrane fouling studies. [Display omitted] • Used OCT to reveal influence of foulant particle shape on membrane fouling. • Spheres were more prone to pore-blockage and thus gave worst flux decline. • Non-spherical particles gave less dense internal cakes due to rotational effects. • Peanut-shaped particles penetrated deeper due to preferential vertical orientation. • Particle shape affected flux decline more when external fouling was dominant. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This study aims at developing an effective method to modify hydrophobic polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) membranes for membrane distillation (MD) which is tolerant to salty feed solution containing mineral oil. A novel approach was explored to obtain a highly hydrophilic membrane surface via plasma induced grafting of polyethylene glycol (PEG) and subsequent TiO2 particles deposition onto the membrane surface. The mechanism of oil affinity onto a membrane surface was quantitatively investigated by the extended Derjaguin–Landau–Verwey–Overbeek (XDLVO) theory. A series of characterizations were conducted for the virgin and modified membranes. Membrane distillation tests for synthetic seawater containing 0.01wt% of mineral oil were also performed to investigate the influences of membrane hydrophobicity, membrane surface structure, pH value of the feed solution and hydrodynamic conditions on oil fouling behavior. The SEM and FTIR measurements confirmed the presence of PEG and TiO2 particles on the PVDF membrane substrate. The hydrophilically modified PVDF-PT membrane exhibits a positive interfacial free energy with oil in the feed, indicating the TiO2 deposition effectively improve the anti-fouling property of PVDF-P membrane and PVDF membrane. It was also found that the PVDF-PT membrane presents a stable water flux over 24h of operation without fouling and wetting due to combined effects of enhanced surface hydrophilicity and reduced membrane pore sizes. In addition, the pH value of the feed solution plays an important role in oil fouling. More severe fouling can be observed at the pH which made the membrane surface and oil droplets carry opposite charges. Moreover, a higher flow velocity enhances the shear force exerted on the oil droplets, thus leading to less oil present on the membrane surface and less oil fouling of the membrane. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

An important issue concerning performance of forward osmosis (FO) systems is salt accumulation in the retentate. This occurs due to the highly retentive FO membrane and reverse diffusion of draw solutes. In this study, experimental data from an osmotic membrane bioreactor (OMBR), which epitomizes a challenging application for FO, was analyzed to investigate longer term effects of the above issue. It was found that salt accumulation is controlled by three factors: membrane, influent, and process. The role of the membrane is application-dependent and significant only when influent osmotic pressure is smaller or in the same order of magnitude as the salt to water permeability ratio (B/A). The study also shows that an experimental duration of 3 × solids retention time (SRT) is necessary for adequate study of salt accumulation in FO systems. Analysis of the B/A ratio provided fundamental information into system behavior. A reducing B/A could be associated with the formation of a mild secondary foulant layer, whereas an increasing B/A was observed for more severe fouling cases and indicated further flux reducing mechanisms. The study makes clear that knowledge of factors affecting salt accumulation is essential for optimization of FO systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Membrane surface modification is an attractive approach to reduce membrane fouling by foulants such as natural organic matters (NOM). A novel technique which combines controlled deposition by electrophoresis of charged moieties, with UV grafting on the membrane surface has been applied to modify poly(ether sulfone) membranes with several different monomers. The monomers included three strong polyelectrolytes [methacrylic acid (MA), acrylic acid (AA) and 2-acryamido glycolic acid (AAG)] and two weak polyelectrolytes [(2-hydroxyethyl)-methacrylate (HEMA) and N-vinylformamide (NVF)]. The molecular weight cut-off, pure water flux, wettability, surface charge and surface morphology were measured for modified and unmodified membranes. The filtration and fouling performance was tested and compared using surface water from a Singapore reservoir. It was found that the modified membrane surfaces exhibited more hydrophilic and negative charged features after the electrophoresis-UV grafting treatment. The MA and AAG grafting reduced the MWCO of the PES membranes to improve NOM retention, and decreased the permeability to less than half of the original. The reason for this was the formation of a thin layer on the membrane surface which reduced the porosity and pore size of the treated membranes. In contrast, the HEMA grafted membrane showed increased MWCO and permeability as a result of the monomer dissolution which enlarged the membrane pore sizes. Membrane characterization by FE-SEM observation confirmed these two mechanisms. With electrophoresis assistance, the modified membrane exhibited more homogeneous surface properties than that without electrophoresis. The modified PES membranes also exhibited lower fouling tendency than the unmodified membranes when filtering NOM due to their hydrophilic and negative charge character after modification. Although the MA modified commercial PW membrane had the same MWCO and pure water flux as the unmodified commercial PT membrane, it had a much lower NOM fouling tendency. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Membrane fouling persists to be among key obstacles in liquid membrane-based separation processes, and thereby the underlying understanding has actively been pursued. The two gaps attempted to be addressed here are namely, (i) internal fouling, which has limited studies due to limitations of instruments available; and (ii) fouling by mixtures of oppositely charged particles, as an extension to the studies on effect of surface charge of pure foulants on fouling. With the sub-micron pure constituents (namely, negatively charged carboxylated latex particles and positively charged aminated latex particles) as benchmarks, mixtures of three different compositions of the two particle types were investigated. The membrane was polycarbonate track-etched (PCTE) membrane. Surprisingly, the mixtures gave worse flux decline than that by purely positively charged aminated latex, which contradicts electrostatic considerations. The fouling model indicates that the mixtures exhibited higher pore blockage parameters (α) than either of the pure constituents, which agree with the flux decline trends. On the other hand, the mixtures gave internal cake resistance parameters (R c /R m) in between that of the pure constituents, which disagree with the fouling trends. Furthermore, optical coherence tomography (OCT) analysis indicates that the mixtures had taller buildups on the membrane as well as heterogenous internal cakes. Therefore, the steepest flux declines for the mixtures seem to be better correlated with the extensive external fouling as manifested in the taller buildups on the membrane pores, rather than internal fouling since the internal cakes were more porous. The contradictory extensive external and mitigated internal fouling phenomena are unexpected based on electrostatic considerations, and thereby highlight that fouling resulting from mixtures may not be readily extrapolated from understanding based on pure particle feeds. Image 1 • Steeper flux decline by mixtures of oppositely charged constituents than pure ones. • Mixtures gave greater pore blockage than constituents, agreeing with flux trends. • Mixtures gave intermediate internal-cake resistance, deviating from flux trends. • OCT trends affirm taller external cake and porous internal cake by mixtures. • Contradictory extensive external fouling and mitigated internal fouling by mixtures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pressure-retarded osmosis (PRO) has attracted worldwide attention for its potential applications in renewable osmotic energy harvesting, low energy seawater desalination, and industrial waste brine disposal. However, membrane fouling is one of the major issues limiting PRO performance with the use of a high-salinity draw solution and a low-value impaired feedwater. This study systematically investigated membrane fouling in the PRO process using a real wastewater retentate (a waste byproduct from wastewater reclamation plants) as the PRO feed. Organic fouling (e.g., by humic substances) and inorganic fouling (e.g., by calcium phosphate) were identified to be the major types of fouling, where the latter dominated the overall water-flux decline. The internal PRO membrane fouling was exacerbated by internal concentration polarization (ICP) and intermolecular interactions between the organic macromolecules and the scaling precursor ions (e.g., Ca 2+ ). A limiting flux that was independent of the initial flux (i.e., applied pressure) was observed during the PRO fouling and was explained by a novel PRO limiting flux model. A membrane with a smaller structural parameter could achieve a higher limiting flux in PRO. A simple and effective pressure-assisted osmotic backwashing protocol was developed to clean the internally fouled membrane that could restore over 92% of the water flux within a short cleaning period (15 mins). The PRO performance could also be significantly improved by decreasing the feedwater pH that mitigated alkaline scaling. Finally, performing the PRO membrane fouling test in the active-layer-facing-feed-solution (AL-FS) orientation revealed that the integral cellulose triacetate (CTA) membrane exhibited strong mechanical stability and anti-fouling tendency whereas the thin-film composite (TFC) membrane was not mechanically stable in this orientation. This study for the first time identified that an integral membrane instead of a TFC membrane is an excellent candidate for PRO operation in the AL-FS mode for fouling control. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Derjaguin-Landau-Verwey-Overbeek (DLVO) model, as well as the extended model (XDLVO), is popularly employed to quantify the interfacial interactions underlying membrane fouling. However, disagreements between membrane fouling extent and the interaction energies derived from DLVO or XDLVO models have been reported, which suggests gaps in the understanding. This study demonstrates that the DLVO approximation methods for predicting the interfacial foulant-membrane interaction are sensitive to the boundary condition assumptions (e.g., constant charge versus constant potential). In particular, while both the Poisson-Boltzmann (P–B) and linear superposition approximation (LSA) equations can quantify the electrostatics (EL) interaction energy component, the former assumes constant potential, while the latter additionally considers constant charge scenarios. The relative accuracy of these two equations were evaluated here. For dead-end filtration tests, flux decline trends, OCT analysis results and fouling model parameters were obtained. Regarding fouling of pristine PCTE membrane by latex particles of opposite charge signs, both the P–B and LSA equations contribute to predict relative fouling extents correctly. However, for the case of the BPEI-coated membrane, the P–B equation failed whereas the LSA equation gave good agreements. For cross-flow filtration tests in organic solvents, LSA also out-performed the P–B equation in providing more accurate predictions of membrane fouling. The results here highlight the shortcomings in the commonly used P–B equation and are expected to be potentially valuable in the development of better approximations for quantifying interfacial interaction energies. [Display omitted] • Both P–B and LSA equations predict fouling of pristine membrane by latex correctly. • Only LSA predict affinity between coated membrane layer and latex correctly. • Superiority of LSA also applies to fouling in organic solvents. • P–B equation is more limited due to underlying constant-potential assumption. • Boundary condition assumptions need to be considered in use of DLVO model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Membrane fouling in organic solvent environments remains poorly explored despite its significance in chemical and pharmaceutical industries. This study uses molecular dynamics (MD) simulations and experiments to explore lysozyme fouling in water, as well as four organic solvent environments, namely, 30 % v/v and 50 % v/v isopropyl alcohol (IPA), and 30 % v/v and 50 % v/v dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO). Experimentally, flux declines were least with IPA and worst with DMSO. Biased simulations indicate the worst fouling in DMSO is tied to the most attractive lysozyme-membrane energy in the presence of DMSO. However, the relative attractive energies for IPA and water do not agree with the relative flux declines, indicating other factors are more influential when the interaction energies are similar. To understand the gentler flux decline for IPA despite the more attractive lysozyme-membrane energy, radial distribution functions (RDFs) were obtained from unbiased simulations. Analyss of the water and solvent films around both the membrane and the lysozyme molecule reveal that the denser water film around both entities induced by the presence of IPA serves as a barrier for fouling and thus leads to less flux decline. The results underscore the complexity of fouling in organic solvent systems, cautioning against direct use of the understanding based on aqueous systems. [Display omitted] • Membrane fouling by lysozyme in water, IPA and DMSO studied. • Flux decline worst in DMSO and least in IPA. • Worst fouling in DMSO tied to most significant lysozyme-membrane attraction. • Least fouling in IPA tied to denser water film around membrane and lysozyme. • Both biased and unbiased molecular dynamics simulations needed for full explanation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• An overview of polymer-based membranes for membrane contacting process is presented. • Current challenges include limited performances, pore wetting and membrane fouling. • Membrane-centred strategies to high-performing antiwetting/fouling membranes are proposed. • Biocatalytic, mixed-matrix, composite, Janus and omniphobic membranes are promising. • Future research is on fouling, materials development and process design optimizations. The gas–liquid membrane contactor (GLMC) is a promising technology for gas absorption and stripping with many competitive advantages over conventional contacting processes. At the centre of this technology, membranes are instrumental in offering a high contact area at the gas-liquid interface. Today, polymer-based membranes are the mainstream for GLMC applications owing to their well-established fabrication techniques and economic advantages. Herein, we aim to review the current progress in polymer-based membranes for GLMC processes. Specifically, we first provide a basic overview of the principles and background of GLMC. Next, we identify three of the biggest Achilles heels of polymer-based membranes for GLMC processes, namely, (1) membrane performances, (2) pore wetting, and (3) membrane fouling. To a certain extent, we contend that a large part of these challenges can be resolved by optimizing the membrane designs. As such, in the next section, we focus our attention on high-performance, antiwetting and antifouling membranes as potential solutions to address these challenges. From a membrane-centred perspective, the scope of our discussion covers extensively from membrane materials, morphologies, structures and configurations, surface modifications to novel membrane designs including composite and mixed-matrix membranes. Notably, as membrane fouling studies are still in the preliminary stage, attractive membrane designs such as Janus and omniphobic membranes are borrowed from membrane distillation process to gain greater insights into the potential solutions that can be adapted for GLMC processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• CoCM was prepared by an in-situ self-scarified template method. • The nanocatalytic Co 3 O 4 was distributed uniformly throughout the whole membrane. • The CoCM could be used to remove organics in water with antifouling property. • The Co O Al bonding decreased the cobalt leaching in the filtration. • The organics removal included a chemical degradation and physical separation. In this study, a pore-functionalized ceramic membrane with isotropically impregnated cobalt oxide (CoCM) was prepared via an in-situ self-sacrificed template method and applied for sulfamethoxazole (SMX) degradation by peroxymonosulfate (PMS) activation under a dead-end membrane filtration mode. The physical and chemical properties of the membranes were characterized via FESEM, AFM, XRD and XPS. Results indicated that Co 3 O 4 had been impregnated into the macropores uniformly throughout the whole ceramic membrane without pore blocking. The formation of Co O Al bonding inhibited the leaching of cobalt during the filtration while the hydroxyl group Co−OH played a crucial role during the radical generation. The contact angle of CoCM decreased, resulting in a higher pure water permeability as compared to the original ceramic membrane. The catalytic degradation of SMX showed that its removal efficiency could be influenced by both contact time and PMS dosage. CoCM exhibited superior antifouling property during the humic acid (HA) removal study. The stability and regeneration of CoCM were investigated. Furthermore, the radical quenching experiment was conducted and the concentration of sulfate radical was quantitatively estimated. Finally, the PMS activation as well as organics removal mechanism in CoCM via the synergistic coupling of catalytic Co 3 O 4 and membrane separation were proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pressure retarded osmosis (PRO) is an innovative technique to yield osmotic energy. Nevertheless, the PRO performance is exacerbated by the severe membrane fouling occurring within the porous support. It is a potential alternative for sustainable power harvesting to change the membrane orientation from active layer facing draw solution (AL−DS) or PRO mode to active layer facing feed solution (AL−FS) or FO mode for a low-fouling propensity. A novel integral PRO hollow fiber membrane was developed in this work by phase inversion and followed with a facile cross-linking post-treatment. The structure and properties of the resultant membrane were systematically investigated using a series of characterization protocols. The PRO performance of the membrane was studied under various hydraulic pressures at the AL−FS orientation. The results reveal that the substrate with sponge-like structure and relatively dense inner surface can better withstand high pressure in PRO process. Two steps of cross-linking endowed the membrane with a smaller pore size on the outer surface that exhibits high rejection against various inorganic salts. The novel integral membrane can achieve a stable power density output around 4.3 W m −2 at 12 ~ 13 bar hydraulic pressure, using a real wastewater reverse osmosis (RO) retentate and 1.0 M sodium chloride as the feed and draw stream, correspondingly. This result demonstrates that the PRO operation in the AL−FS orientation (FO mode) offers a significant advantage over the AL−DS orientation (PRO mode) by eliminating the pretreatment of the feed water or/and other measures associated with membrane fouling control in the PRO mode. To implement the PRO operation with the AL−FS orientation, developing a robust membrane with an integral structure is critical. The newly developed integral hollow fiber membrane via chemical cross-linking presents the potential for PRO operation in the AL−FS orientation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The emerging technology of pressure retarded osmosis (PRO) has been intensely studied over the past decades due to its potential in harvesting salinity gradient energy, but membrane fouling can deteriorate the PRO performance. To mitigate membrane fouling, the outer surface of the inner-selective thin-film composite (TFC) polyetherimide (PEI) hollow fiber membrane was modified by depositing poly-(allylamine hydrochloride) (PAH) and poly acrylic acid (PAA) polyelectrolytes. The results show that the outer surface of the modified membrane had less pores exposed and was more negatively charged, which was beneficial for preventing the entrance and adsorption of the negatively charged foulants into the membrane substrate. It was further proved that the modified membrane was effective in reducing PRO fouling by organic macromolecules such as alginate and bovine serum albumin, while maintaining the mechanical properties and intrinsic separation properties well. Interestingly, after 200 ppm alginate was introduced to the feed water, the power density of the modified membrane could be maintained constant at 16.2 W·m − 2 at 15 bar while that of the non-modified membrane reduced around 17% at the end of a 300-min testing period. The results suggest that the polyelectrolytes deposition is a feasible strategy for adding anti-fouling property to PRO membranes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The advancement of pressure retarded osmosis (PRO) has drawn much attention recently to its feasibility of practical operation. Membrane fouling is one of the main challenges, especially when real wastewater is used as feed solution in the PRO system. Low pressure nanofiltration (NF) pretreatment was thus adopted in current study to pretreat the wastewater reverse osmosis (RO) brine collected from a wastewater treatment plant prior to feeding to the PRO process. Three NF membranes were compared in terms of the membrane properties, NF permeate (i.e., PRO feed) quality and the PRO membrane performance. Results showed that the PRO water flux could increase to 30.5 L/m 2 /h (LMH) at 16 bar applied pressure by adopting the pretreated solution using an in-house made low-pressure NF hollow fiber membrane module, in contrast to the water flux of 9 LMH for untreated wastewater RO brine. A systematic analysis of water chemistry and membrane characterization (electron dispersed X-ray (EDX) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) depth profiling) revealed that calcium salts, organic compounds, and silica could be the main contributors to the membrane fouling in PRO. Low-pressure NF was able to mitigate the fouling potential from multivalent ions and organic matters, but silica scaling in PRO needs to be further addressed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Increasing demand for oil and gas leads to the generation of substantial amount of produced water, bringing about deleterious impacts on the environment. Direct-contact membrane distillation (DCMD) could be a possible option for dewatering oil-in-water (O/W) emulsions because of many benefits brought by the DCMD process. However, these low surface tension solutions pose some difficult issues such as membrane fouling and pore wetting. The mechanisms involved are not fully understood due to the lack of study of the interaction between the emulsions and the membrane surface in the DCMD domain. To address the challenges, this study aims at developing a fundamental understanding of the relationship between surfactant-stabilized O/W emulsions and polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) membrane surface in DCMD operations. Effects of surfactant types (Span 20, Tween 20, and sodium dodecyl sulfate), oil concentration, and oil types (petroleum and vacuum pump oil) were systematically studied to better understand the fouling and wetting mechanisms involved. The results reveal that surfactant concentration and hydrophobicity had an influence on the membrane fouling and wetting behaviors. Surfactants with a lower hydrophilic-lipophilic balance (HLB) value could make the PVDF membrane surface less hydrophobic and cause less severe fouling by restraining the adsorption of oil droplets on the membrane surface. These findings suggest that membrane surface modification is required to achieve anti-fouling and anti-wetting properties to make DCMD an energy-efficient and effective technology for treating produced water. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Novel composite forward osmosis (FO) hollow fiber membranes with two selective skin layers were developed in the present work. The polyethersulfone (PES) hollow fiber substrate was firstly fabricated by a phase inversion method. The RO-like polyamide skin layer was then prepared on the inner surface of the hollow fiber substrate via interfacial polymerization (IP), while the NF-like outer skin layer was prepared via polyelectrolyte layer-by-layer (LBL) assembly. Three double-skinned membranes with negative (DS#1.5), positive (DS#2.0) and minimal (DS#2.5) outer surface charges under neutral pH environment were evaluated for their capabilities against organic fouling in the FO process. The newly developed double-skinned membranes possess water permeability greater than 2 l/m 2 h bar and NaCl rejection higher than 95% under 2 bar pressure, and have superior water flux and less salt leakage than the commercial HTI FO membranes as well as all the reported double-skinned FO membranes with RO-like selective layers. Most importantly, the double-skinned DS#2.5 hollow fiber membrane exhibits exciting organic fouling resistance because of its highly hydrophilic NF-like secondary layer with minimal surface charge and tightened surface structure to mitigate possible substrate pore clogging and fouling layer formation. A stable water flux of around 25 l/m 2 h was attained for DS#2.5 membrane using <0.5 M NaCl as the draw solution and a water containing 200 ppm dextran (DEX) or Aldrich humic acid (AHA), or lysozyme (LYS) and 10 mM NaCl as the model feed in the active layer against the draw solution (AL-DS) configuration, suggesting its great potential for practical FO applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights: [•] Effect of intrinsic properties of foulants on FO membrane performance was studied. [•] Diffusivity governs hollow fiber membrane performance in FO mode. [•] Flat sheet membrane performance in PRO mode was controlled by combined mechanisms. [•] The mechanisms include diffusivity, size exclusion and electrostatic interactions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Thin-film composite (TFC) membranes are generally preferred over integrally skinned asymmetric (ISA) membranes in pressure retarded osmosis (PRO) process due to their much higher water permeability, but they cannot operate in the active layer facing feed solution (AL-FS) orientation because of potential delamination of the rejection layer under the high applied pressure. However, operating under AL-FS orientation is preferred as a strategy for better fouling control. Hence, in this study, three ISA hollow fiber membranes were fabricated using a dry-jet wet-spinning method, followed by chemical cross-linking to obtain membranes for PRO application. The best-performing membrane was subjected to fouling test in two orientations. Our results demonstrate that the AL-FS orientation is better for a sustainable long-term PRO operation, given the stable performance throughout the two-day testing. Also, the current use of power density per membrane area as a performance benchmark may not be practical for large-scale PRO operation, and the volumetric power density per module is more relevant. In terms of volumetric power density for a hypothetical 5-in. module, our best-performing membrane is predicted to generate a 3.6 to 10 times better power density than commercial modules, rendering our ISA hollow fiber membranes promising for scaling-up to bigger modules. [Display omitted] • Operating under AL-FS orientation is preferred as a strategy for better fouling control. • Integrally skinned asymmetric hollow fiber membranes were developed for AL-FS orientation in PRO. • The membranes achieved sustainable power production when wastewater was employed. • The volumetric power density was predicted to yield promising solution for practical application. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current study aimed to understand both external and internal membrane fouling by three proteins with different net charges, namely, negatively charged pepsin and bovine serum albumin (BSA), as well as positively charged lysozyme. Polycarbonate track-etched (PCTE) membranes were used. Per electrostatic attraction, the flux decline was the worst for lysozyme, which is attributed by the fouling model to the greatest pore blockage (α) and pore constriction (β), and by field-emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM) and optical coherence tomography (OCT) to the most extensive external fouling. Between pepsin and BSA, BSA gave worse flux decline despite its more negative net charge. The fouling model indicates that BSA gave greater pore blockage (α) and denser internal cake (R c / R m), while the quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation (QCM-D) indicates a rigid cake structure. Notably, despite monotonic flux decline with filtration, the OCT fouling voxel trends show significant fluctuations, which has not been reported before and thus signify the unique behavior of protein foulants in straight-through pores. Specifically, the trends below and above the −4.5 μm layer (i.e., 4.5 μm below the feed-membrane interface) are perfectly opposite, indicating the non-uniform protein deposits slipping downwards in the membrane pores as filtration progressed. The dynamic movements of the protein cakes unveiled here warrant more understanding in future studies. • Surprising fluctuations of OCT fouled voxels despite monotonically decreasing flux. • Dynamic downward motion of fouled protein deposit in the straight-through pores. • Delayed fluctuations by BSA tied to densest and most rigid cake. • Worst flux decline by lysozyme due to high pore blockage and pore constriction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This research focused on combined organic–inorganic fouling and cleaning studies of forward osmosis (FO) membranes. Various organic/inorganic model foulants such as sodium alginate, bovine serum albumin (BSA) and silica nanoparticles were applied to polyamide-polyethersulfone FO hollow fiber membranes fabricated in our laboratory. In order to understand all possible interactions, experiments were performed with a single foulant as well as combinations of foulants. Experimental results suggested that the degree of FO membrane fouling could be promoted by synergistic effect of organic foulants, the presence of divalent cations, low cross-flow velocity and high permeation drag force. The water flux of fouled FO hollow fibers could be fully restored by simple physical cleaning. It was also found that hydrodynamic regime played an important role in combined organic–inorganic fouling of FO membranes. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The forward osmosis membrane bioreactor (FOMBR) has received much attention recently. Due to the high rejection nature of FO membranes, the biomass, dissolved organic and inorganic compounds retained in the bioreactor could cause membrane fouling by multiple mechanisms. In this study, a 45% permeate flux decrease was observed in a well controlled FOMBR equipped with a submerged hollow fiber FO membrane module with the active layer facing the draw solution (AL-DS) configuration. A series of characterizations were performed to explore membrane fouling mechanisms in the FOMBR. It was found that a biofouling layer covered the substrate surface of the FO membrane with a combined structure of bacterial clusters and extracellular polymeric substances (EPS), which contributed to 72% drop of the membrane mass transfer coefficient (K m ) and around 10% increase in the hydraulic resistance. The inorganic fouling was caused by Ca, Mg, Al, Si, Fe and P that contributed 60% of the total hydraulic resistance of the fouled membrane and decreased the K m by around 34%. These results suggest that in this application the FO fouling is governed by the coupled influences of biofilm formation and inorganic scaling. When the configuration was reversed with the active layer facing the feed solution (AL-FS), a negligible flux decline was obtained by applying intermittent tap water flushing to the membrane surface, which suggests that the AL-FS orientation is favorable for FOMBR operation. An effective strategy for fouling control is to prevent internal scaling and the over-growth of biofilm on the membrane surface. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The performance of a forward osmosis (FO) system may be characterised by the assessment parameters: FO–RO flux ratio (J w/J w(RO)), apparent FO water permeability (J w/(π ds − π ml)), and the newly developed flux efficiency factor (J w,ob/J w,re). The former two parameters offer information on extent of internal concentration polarisation and driving force utilisation, respectively. The J w,ob/J w,re factor has practical relevance, and reveals the inevitable trade-off between flux and recovery (φ) for a FO system. The derived J w,ob/J w,re factors corresponded well to experimental observations. High water permeability, low salt-to-water permeability ratio, and large mass transfer coefficient improve the performance of a FO system, but these may also be influenced by operational and fouling effects, such as draw solute transmission, fouling resistance and cake-enhanced concentration polarisation. It was shown that membrane properties also play a significant role in fouling behaviour. Fouling amelioration factors include aeration and osmotic backwash. A thin-film composite membrane showed potential for FO application with favourable intrinsic transport parameters. It was demonstrated that a FO system could achieve stable water production with both relatively high flux efficiency (J w,ob/J w,re =0.8) and high recovery (φ =95.8%), which attested to the technology potential. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: There has been an increasing interest in the novel integration of forward osmosis (FO) and biological process known as the osmotic membrane bioreactor (OMBR). However, little operating experience is available to adequately assess the feasibility of the technology for larger scale application. The goal of this study is to provide fundamental information on the technology. In this study, an OMBR system was continuously operated for 73days. It was found that the high retention property of the FO membrane and salt transmission from the draw solution resulted in increasing mixed liquor salinity until a stable state was reached. In spite of the elevated salinity, the water flux was relatively stable at around 3Lm−2 h−1. Post-experiment analyses indicated mild membrane fouling, and its effect on water permeability was insignificant. An ion analysis check indicated that scaling did not occur. The SEM examination detected a thin gel-like secondary layer on the membrane surface. It was deduced that this secondary layer could have an influencing role on salt transmission during the experiment, and moderated salt concentration in the bioreactor. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Forward osmosis (FO) is attracting increasing interest for its potential applications in water and wastewater treatment and desalination. One of the major drawbacks of FO is internal concentration polarization (ICP), which significantly limits the FO flux efficiency. In addition, FO membrane flux can be adversely affected by membrane fouling. The effects of ICP and fouling on FO flux behavior were systematically investigated in the current study. Both theoretical model and experimental results demonstrated that the FO flux was highly non-linear with respect to the apparent driving force (the concentration difference between the draw solution and the feed water) as a result of ICP. ICP played a dominant role on FO flux behavior at greater draw solution concentrations and/or greater membrane fluxes due to the exponential dependence of ICP on flux level. Compared to the active layer facing draw solution (AL-facing-DS) configuration, more severe ICP was observed when the membrane active layer faced the feed water (AL-facing-FW) as a result of dilutive ICP in the FO support layer. Interestingly, the AL-facing-FW configuration showed remarkable flux stability against both dilution of the bulk draw solution and membrane fouling. In this configuration, any attempt to reduce membrane flux was compensated by a reduced level of ICP. The net result was only a marginal flux reduction. In addition, foulant deposition was insignificant in this configuration. Thus, the AL-facing-FW configuration enjoyed inherently stable flux, however, at the expense of severer initial ICP. In contrast, the AL-facing-DS configuration suffered severe flux reduction as porous membrane support faced the humic acid containing feed water. The flux loss in this configuration was likely due to the combined effects of (1) the internal clogging of the FO support structure as well as (2) the resulting enhanced ICP in the support layer. The latter was caused by reduced porosity and reduced mass transfer coefficient of the support. The pore clogging enhanced ICP mechanism probably played a dominant role in FO flux reduction at higher flux levels. To the authors’ best knowledge, this is the first study to systematically demonstrate the coupled effects of ICP and fouling on the FO flux behavior. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Membrane fouling, which is a key obstacle in implementing membrane technology, has been studied extensively for aqueous feeds. With increasing interests in organic solvent applications, a corresponding effort on understanding membrane fouling is warranted. This study employs molecular dynamics simulations to unveil the mechanisms underlying the different adsorption behaviors of dextran onto a polyacrylonitrile (PAN) membrane in three polar and protic solvents, namely, water, formamide and ethanol. The dextran-membrane separation distance is the lowest for water, followed by ethanol then formamide, which agrees with the worse flux decline for water relative to formamide observed experimentally. The greatest adsorption tendency in water is tied to the most attractive dextran-membrane interaction. On the other hand, the lower adsorption tendency in formamide and ethanol is linked to enhanced solvation of the dextran molecule and membrane, which deters dextran adsorption onto the membrane. Specifically, formamide, which leads to the least adsorption, exhibits the most attractive solvent-dextran and solvent-membrane interaction energies, the highest solvent-accessible surface area (SASA) for dextran, and also the highest density of solvent molecules in the solvation shell closest to the membrane. As for ethanol, it gives the highest density of solvent molecules in the solvation shell closest to a part of the dextran. The solvation of foulant and membrane by water deviates from that by other similarly polar and protic solvents, which has important implications in membrane fouling and highlights the need for enhancing the understanding of membrane fouling behaviors in organic solvents. [Display omitted] • Adsorption tendency of dextran on membrane is greatest in water and least in formamide. • Dextran-membrane interaction is most attractive in water. • Solvent-dextran and solvent-membrane interactions are most attractive in formamide. • Competitive solvent and dextran adsorption onto membrane governs fouling. • Greater solvation of foulant and membrane in ethanol and formamide reduces fouling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, a prototype microgranular adsorptive filtration (μGAF) system was constructed employing a 7-bore ceramic membrane as the primary membrane and either heated aluminum oxide particles (HAOPs) or powdered activated carbon (PAC) as the pre-deposited dynamic membrane (DM). The system was used to pre-treat membrane bioreactor (MBR) effluent from a full-scale MBR-reverse osmosis (RO) water reclamation plant. The downstream RO performance and membrane fouling potential of the treated effluent were then assessed. The results indicated that: (i) although PAC removed more overall EfOM than HAOPs did, HAOPs were more effective in removing biopolymers such as polysaccharides and proteins, (ii) HAOPs virtually eliminated fouling of the primary ceramic membrane, whereas considerable fouling (much of it irreversible) occurred when the feed was pretreated with PAC, (iii) HAOPs removed more than 90% of the phosphorus and fluoride from the feed, but PAC removed negligible amounts of these contaminants, and (iv) HAOPs-treated effluent resulted in only a 43% decline in RO permeate water flux over 5 d of continuous filtration, as opposed to 62% flux decline for untreated or PAC-treated effluent. This study thus demonstrates the effectiveness of the HAOPs-based μGAF process as a pre-treatment for improving downstream RO recovery. • A prototype μGAF system was used to treat an MBR effluent from a full-scale MBR-RO plant. • μGAF using HAOPs demonstrated an efficient removal of biopolymer, phosphorus, silica and fluoride. • HAOPs was more effective at mitigating downstream RO fouling compared to PAC. • HAOPs demonstrated the potential to enhance the overall performance of a water recovery process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Membrane fouling occurs in all membrane processes. Surface modifications have gained popularity for enhancing membrane antifouling capability via introducing a hydrophilic component or reducing membrane surface roughness. In this work, we proposed to develop a green antimicrobial lysozyme nanofilm on the polyamide membrane surface with remarkable antibacterial and antifouling properties to effectively reduce membrane fouling. The nanofilm is rooted in the molecular assembly of a protein which is an extraction of food and natural products. The nanofilm exhibits the combination of various functions including antimicrobial, antifouling and antibiofilm. This protein-based nanofilm is robustly transferred and self-adhered on the membrane surface by a simple one-step aqueous coating. The modified RO membrane exhibited good performance in bacterial reduction of ~50% in comparison to the control membrane and experienced almost zero loss in water flux and salt rejection under SWRO testing condition. The membrane is further evaluated with real seawater for 14 days and the modified membrane showed its superiority in flux and fouling control which were verified by the confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM) and quantified by inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometer (ICP-OES). This work demonstrates that the protein-based biomaterials offer a safe and environmentally friendly way of antimicrobials, which can reduce membrane fouling significantly in membrane filtration. Unlabelled Image • A protein-based antimicrobial nanofilm was in-situ fabricated on a commercial SWRO membrane surface. • The modification did not change the SWRO membrane's selectivity and water permeability. • The modified membrane demonstrated ~50% bacterial reduction compared to the control membrane. • The modified membrane had good anti-fouling property applied in SWRO. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]