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Direct Three-Dimensional Visualization of Membrane Fouling by Confocal Laser Scanning Microscopy
摘要： Membrane-based separation is an important technique for removing emulsified oil from water. However, the mechanisms of fouling are complex because of the deformability and potential for coalescence and break-up of the oil droplets. Here, we report for the first time direct, three-dimensional (3D) visualization of oil droplets on electrospun fiber microfiltration membranes after a period of membrane-based separation of oil-in-water emulsions. High-resolution 3D images were acquired by a dual-channel confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM) technique in which both the fibers and the oil (dodecane) were fluorescently labeled. The morphology of dodecane as the foulant was observed for two different types of fibers, an oleophobic nylon (PA6(3)T), and oleophilic polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF). Through direct visualization, the rejected oil was found to form droplets of clam-shell shape on the PA6(3)T fibers, whereas the oil tended to wet the PVDF fibers and spread across the membrane. The morphology was also analyzed as a function of separation time (i.e., "4D" imaging), as the oil accumulated within and upon the membranes. The observations are qualitatively consistent with a transition from blocking of individual pores in the membrane to coalescence of oil droplets into coherent liquid films with increasing filtration time. Analysis of permeate flux using blocking filtration models corroborate the transition of fouling modes indicated by the 3D images. This direct, 3D visualization CLSM technique is a powerful tool for characterizing the mechanisms of fouling in membranes used for liquid emulsion separations.
关键词： membrane fouling,3D imaging,oil emulsion,microfiltration,direct visualization
更新于2025-11-21 11:08:12
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Proof of Concept for Light Conducting Membrane Substrate for UV-Activated Photocatalysis as an Alternative to Chemical Cleaning
摘要： Adopting an effective strategy to control fouling is a necessary requirement for all membrane processes used in the water/wastewater treatment industry to operate sustainably. The use of ultraviolet (UV) activated photocatalysis has been shown to be effective in mitigating ceramic membrane fouling by natural organic matter. The widely used configuration in which light is directed through the polluted water to the membrane’s active layer suffers from inefficiencies brought about by light absorption by the pollutants and light shielding by the cake layer. To address these limitations, directing light through the substrate, instead of through polluted water, was studied. A UV conducting membrane was prepared by dip coating TiO2 onto a sintered glass substrate. The substrate could successfully conduct UV from a lamp source, unlike a typical alumina substrate. The prepared membrane was applied in the filtration of a humic acid solution as a model compound to study natural organic matter membrane fouling. Directing UV through the substrate showed only a 1 percentage point decline in the effectiveness of the cleaning method over two cleaning events from 72% to 71%, while directing UV over the photocatalytic layer had a 9 percentage point decline from 84% to 75%. Adapting the UV-through-substrate configuration could be more useful in maintaining membrane functionality during humic acid filtration than the current method being used.
关键词： photocatalytic membrane,membrane fouling,Titanium dioxide,water treatment
更新于2025-09-19 17:15:36
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Fouling process and anti-fouling mechanisms of dynamic membrane assisted by photocatalytic oxidation under sub-critical fluxes
摘要： Membrane fouling is often considered as a hindrance for the application of microfiltration /ultrafiltration (MF/UF) for drinking water production. A novel process of photocatalytic membrane reactor/dynamic membrane (PMR/DM), operating in a continuous mode under sub-critical flux, was proposed for the mitigation of membrane fouling caused by humic acids (HAs) in water. The mechanism of membrane fouling alleviation with synergistic photocatalytic oxidation and dynamic layer isolating effect was comprehensively investigated from the characterization of foulants evolution responsible for the reversible and irreversible fouling. The results showed that the PMR/DM utilized photocatalytic oxidation to enhance the porosity and hydrophilicity of the fouling layer by converting the high molecular weight (MW) and hydrophobic HA molecules with carboxylic functional groups and aromatic structures into low-MW hydrophilic or transphilic fractions, including tryptophan-like or fulvic-like substances. The fouling layer formed in the PMR/DM by combination of photocatalytic oxidation and DM running at sub-critical flux of 100 L?h-1?m-2, was more hydrophilic and more porous, resulting in the lowest trans-membrane pressure (TMP) growth rates, as compared to the processes of ceramic membrane (CM), DM and PMR/CM. Meanwhile, the dynamic layer prevented the foulants, particularly the high-MW hydrophobic fractions, from contacting the primary membrane, which enabled the membrane permeability to be restored easily.
关键词： Photocatalytic Membrane Reactor,Sub-critical Flux,Dynamic Membrane,Humic Acids,Membrane Fouling
更新于2025-09-10 09:29:36