The objective of this study was to characterize and identify the organic foulants responsible for flux declines
of low pressure membranes during periods of more intense microbial activity. Samples were collected from the Urne River (Brittany
region - France) after clarification at the Magenta drinking water treatment plant at
different periods during the first semester of the year 2003. High Pressure Size Exclusion Chromatography (HPSEC) and Pyrolysis GC/MS analyses were
the two major analytical tools used in this study. Time of Flight-Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry (TOF SIMS) and amino acids and amino sugars
analyses were also performed. This work confirmed that during intense microbial activity in the source
water (spring, summer time), conventionally treated water exert stronger membrane fouling. HPSEC
analyses showed that high molecular polysaccharides and proteins are preferentially sorbed onto the
membranes during such period. This study showed that the organic foulant that remains after backwash
and chemical cleaning was a mixture of several biopolymers (proteins, polysaccharides, amino sugars
and polyhydroxyaromatics). Amino sugars and polysaccharides which originate from microbial activity
(microbial cell wall residues and/or exopolymers from DOM constituents and/or biofilm) appeared to be the major constituents of the fouling material. Includes 5 references, tables, figures.
| Edition : | Vol. - No. |
| File Size : | 1
file
, 570 KB |
| Note : | This product is unavailable in Ukraine, Russia, Belarus |
| Number of Pages : | 9 |
| Published : | 03/01/2005 |
