Organic fouling and floc transport in capillaries
Research output: Contribution to journal › Research article › Contributed › peer-review
Contributors
Abstract
Coagulation and adsorption are two widely recommended pretreatments to ultrafiltration (UF) membranes. Optimal concentrations of ferric chloride and powdered activated carbon (PAC) are reducing membrane fouling and increasing the retention of the organic matter. Intuitive pretreatment may result in either increased fouling or in low retention of organic matter. In addition, the inside-out capillaries might become partially plugged by the formed flocs. The understanding of the fouling mechanisms in inside-out capillaries is therefore a challenging and much practically needed task. We investigated the fouling using an unique setup with separate measurements of flux and retention of organic matter in five segments of a 1.5-m long multibore capillary. The high coagulant doses resulted in average 90% humic acid retention and in severe fouling. The use of powdered activated carbon at higher pH also contributed to severe increases in membrane resistance. As the filtration progressed, the dead-end part of the capillary (far from the feed) gradually became clogged with flocs.
Details
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 482-489 |
Number of pages | 8 |
Journal | Separation and purification technology |
Volume | 80 |
Issue number | 3 |
Publication status | Published - 18 Aug 2011 |
Peer-reviewed | Yes |
External IDs
Scopus | 79961025078 |
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ORCID | /0000-0002-6355-9122/work/142237067 |
Keywords
Keywords
- Membrane length, Organic fouling, Pretreatment, Transport phenomena, UF, Floc Transport, Capillaries