Reverse osmosis (RO) is being increasingly used in treatment of municipal wastewater
secondary effluent for potable and non-potable reuse. Among other foulants, dissolved
biopolymers, i.e., proteins and polysaccharides, can lead to severe fouling of the RO
membranes. In this study, the role of membrane surface properties in RO membrane
fouling by two model biopolymers, bovine serum albumin (BSA) and sodium alginate
(NaAlg), was investigated. Three commercial RO membranes with different surface
properties were tested in a laboratory-scale cross-flow membrane filtration unit.
Membrane surface properties considered include surface roughness, zeta potential, and
hydrophobicity. The results revealed that membrane surface roughness had the greatest
effect on fouling by the biopolymers tested. At the same concentration, alginate fouled
the membranes much faster than BSA under the solution conditions tested. Includes 16 references, figures.
| Edition : | Vol. - No. |
| File Size : | 1
file
, 350 KB |
| Note : | This product is unavailable in Ukraine, Russia, Belarus |
| Number of Pages : | 10 |
| Published : | 11/01/2005 |
