Abstract
The efforts to improve the stability of membrane filtration in applications for wastewater treatment or the purification of drinking water still dominate the research in the field of membrane technology. Various factors that cause membrane fouling have been explored to find the solution for improving the stability of the filtration and prolong membrane lifetime. The present work explains the filtration performance of a hollow fiber membrane that is fabricated from polyethersulfone-2-(methacryloyloxy) ethyl phosphorylchloline while using a sodium alginate (SA) feed solution. The filtration process is designed in a pressure driven cross-flow module using a single piece hollow fiber membrane in a flow of outside-inside We investigate the effect of Ca and Mg ions in SA solution on the relative permeability, membrane resistance, cake resistance, and cake formation on the membrane surface. Furthermore, the performance of membrane filtration is predicted while using mathematical models that were developed based on Darcy’s law. Results show that the presence of Ca ions in SA solution has the most prominent effect on the formation of a cake layer. The formed cake layer has a significant effect in lowering relative permeability. The developed models have a good fit with the experimental data for pure water filtration with R2 values between 0.9200 and 0.9999. When treating SA solutions, the developed models fit well with experimental with the best model (Model I) shows R2 of 0.9998, 0.9999, and 0.9994 for SA, SA + Ca, and SA + Mg feeds, respectively.
Highlights
In the last few decades, the use of membrane technology for water and wastewater treatment has undergone rapid development
This study investigates the membrane fouling of sodium alginate (SA) solution in the presence of
Macrovoid structures are seen underneath the skins and sponge-like structure in the middle of the membrane
Summary
In the last few decades, the use of membrane technology for water and wastewater treatment has undergone rapid development. Membrane material developments have been comprehensively and continuously conducted [1,2,3,4]. In comparison with conventional processes, membrane technology offers some advantages. Membrane filtration is highly flexible and it can be applied under a required specification. It can be combined with other processes (i.e., membrane bioreactor). The technology can be scaled-up in a low foot-print, and the separation properties can be fine-tuned with solvent treatment of the membrane material, as described elsewhere [6].
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