Fouling and Cleaning in Membrane Processes, Volume II

A special issue of Membranes (ISSN 2077-0375). This special issue belongs to the section "Membrane Processing and Engineering".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (20 March 2020) | Viewed by 16454

Special Issue Editors


E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Chemical Engineering, Lund University, Box 124, 221 00 Lund, Sweden
Interests: membrane separation processes; integration of membrane processes; fouling and cleaning; membrane applications in food, biotech and chemical industry; water and wastewater treatment
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Centre for Advanced Separations Engineering (CASE), Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Bath, Claverton Down, Bath BA2 7AY, UK
Interests: green cleaning; fouling; sensors; surfaces; water treatment; air purification

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Wallenberg Wood Science Center (WWSC), Forest and Chemical Engineering Department, Chalmers University of Technology, SE 412 96, Gothenburg, Sweden
Interests: fouling; biorefinery; wood constituents; solid–liquid separation; fractionation

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Fouling is the growth and/or accumulation of material on the exterior or interior surfaces of a membrane. Fouling presents the largest challenge towards a more widespread use of membrane separation, a potentially energy- and cost-efficient separation operation, in a broad range of industrial sectors. Fouling leads to flux decline, increased energy consumption, impaired product quality, shortened membrane lifetime, and increased operating costs. The problem of fouling is a long-standing, chronic challenge which is unlikely to be eliminated and leads to frequent equipment shut-down and cleaning. The removal or cleaning of fouling layers from membranes is, therefore, critically important to restore equipment sterility and performance. Cleaning processes are often a major contributor to the water, energy, and chemical footprint of many industries. Improving the effectiveness of cleaning is key to reduce financial and environmental penalties. This Special Issue is dedicated to recent advances and new research trends in investigation and characterization techniques applicable to fouling and cleaning of membrane processes.

We sincerely invite you to submit your original work to this Special Issue. Experimental, mathematical, and numerical modelling, theoretical and research articles, communications, as well as reviews with innovative research ideas are particularly welcome.

Prof. Dr. Frank Lipnizki
Dr. John Chew
Dr. Tuve Mattsson
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Membranes is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • Cleaning
  • Coating
  • Detection
  • Fouling
  • Flux
  • Membranes
  • Pore
  • Surface
  • Selectivity

Published Papers (3 papers)

Order results
Result details
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:

Research

Jump to: Review

17 pages, 4667 KiB  
Article
Particle Track and Trace during Membrane Filtration by Direct Observation with a High Speed Camera
by Mads Koustrup Jørgensen, Kristian Boe Eriksen and Morten Lykkegaard Christensen
Membranes 2020, 10(4), 68; https://doi.org/10.3390/membranes10040068 - 10 Apr 2020
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 2774
Abstract
A methodology was developed for direct observation and analysis of particle movements near a microfiltration membrane. A high speed camera (1196 frames per second) was mounted on a microscope to record a hollow fiber membrane in a filtration cell with a transparent wall. [...] Read more.
A methodology was developed for direct observation and analysis of particle movements near a microfiltration membrane. A high speed camera (1196 frames per second) was mounted on a microscope to record a hollow fiber membrane in a filtration cell with a transparent wall. Filtrations were conducted at varying pressure and crossflow velocities using synthetic core–shell particles (diameter 1.6 μm) of no and high negative surface charge. MATLAB scripts were developed to track the particle positions and calculate velocities of particle movements across and towards the membrane surface. Data showed that the velocity of particles along the membrane increases with distance from the membrane surface which correlates well with a fluid velocity profile obtained from CFD modelling. Particle track and trace was used to calculate the particle count profiles towards the membrane and document a higher concentration of particles near the membrane surface than in the bulk. Calculation of particle velocity towards and away from the membrane showed a region within 3–80 μm from the membrane surface with particle velocities higher than expected from the velocity of water through the membrane, thus the permeation drag underpredicts the actual velocity of particles towards the membrane. Near the membrane, particle velocities shift direction and move away. This is not described in classical filtration theory, but it has been speculated that this is an effect of particle rotation or due to membrane vibration or change in flow pattern close to the membrane. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Fouling and Cleaning in Membrane Processes, Volume II)
Show Figures

Graphical abstract

18 pages, 4996 KiB  
Article
Online Backwash Optimization of Membrane Filtration for Produced Water Treatment
by Kasper L. Jepsen, Mads V. Bram, Leif Hansen, Zhenyu Yang and Steven M. Ø. Lauridsen
Membranes 2019, 9(6), 68; https://doi.org/10.3390/membranes9060068 - 05 Jun 2019
Cited by 24 | Viewed by 4856
Abstract
In the offshore oil and gas sector, produced water is discharged into the sea, but increasing environmental concerns and stricter governmental regulations require new technologies to be considered. Membrane filtration is a promising technology to improve separation, but fouling of the membranes causes [...] Read more.
In the offshore oil and gas sector, produced water is discharged into the sea, but increasing environmental concerns and stricter governmental regulations require new technologies to be considered. Membrane filtration is a promising technology to improve separation, but fouling of the membranes causes a significant reduction in flow capacity. To reduce fouling, optimization of the backwashing parameters is given much attention. Comprehensive and time-consuming experiments are used to model the effect of backwashing, but most methods neglect time varying features present in the offshore produced water treatment train. In this paper, a backwashing scheduling algorithm is proposed, which dynamically selects the filtration and backwashing durations to maximize the average net permeate production. The proposed algorithm is tested on a lab-scaled pilot plant, where it was able to adapt as irreversible fouling accumulated and the OiW concentration changed. The paper concludes that the removal rate of oil fouling was observed to be dependent on the rate at which the backwashing pressure could be established. As the proposed method online adapts to the current conditions, it can improve the filtration capacity compared to cases with constant backwashing and filtration durations throughout the lifetime of the facilities. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Fouling and Cleaning in Membrane Processes, Volume II)
Show Figures

Figure 1

Review

Jump to: Research

81 pages, 6579 KiB  
Review
Biofouling of Polyamide Membranes: Fouling Mechanisms, Current Mitigation and Cleaning Strategies, and Future Prospects
by Jane Kucera
Membranes 2019, 9(9), 111; https://doi.org/10.3390/membranes9090111 - 30 Aug 2019
Cited by 67 | Viewed by 8275
Abstract
Reverse osmosis and nanofiltration systems are continuously challenged with biofouling of polyamide membranes that are used almost exclusively for these desalination techniques. Traditionally, pretreatment and reactive membrane cleanings are employed as biofouling control methods. This in-depth review paper discusses the mechanisms of membrane [...] Read more.
Reverse osmosis and nanofiltration systems are continuously challenged with biofouling of polyamide membranes that are used almost exclusively for these desalination techniques. Traditionally, pretreatment and reactive membrane cleanings are employed as biofouling control methods. This in-depth review paper discusses the mechanisms of membrane biofouling and effects on performance. Current industrial disinfection techniques are reviewed, including chlorine and other chemical and non-chemical alternatives to chlorine. Operational techniques such as reactive membrane cleaning are also covered. Based on this review, there are three suggested areas of additional research offering promising, polyamide membrane-targeted biofouling minimization that are discussed. One area is membrane modification. Modification using surface coatings with inclusion of various nanoparticles, and graphene oxide within the polymer or membrane matrix, are covered. This work is in the infancy stage and shows promise for minimizing the contributions of current membranes themselves in promoting biofouling, as well as creating oxidant-resistant membranes. Another area of suggested research is chemical disinfectants for possible application directly on the membrane. Likely disinfectants discussed herein include nitric oxide donor compounds, dichloroisocyanurate, and chlorine dioxide. Finally, proactive cleaning, which aims to control the extent of biofouling by cleaning before it negatively affects membrane performance, shows potential for low- to middle-risk systems. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Fouling and Cleaning in Membrane Processes, Volume II)
Show Figures

Figure 1

Back to TopTop