TY - JOUR
T1 - Multiple MFI measurements for the evaluation of organic fouling in SWRO desalination
AU - Ju, Younggil
AU - Hong, Ilgu
AU - Hong, Seungkwan
N1 - Funding Information:
The authors would like to thank the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport ( Code# 07 seaHEROB02-01 ) for supporting this study through the Seawater Engineering & Architecture of High-Efficiency Reverse Osmosis (SEAHERO) program. We would also like to thank Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction for its support on the following projects: “Development of a Fouling Index Using MMAS” and “Manual for Application of a Pilot Plant.”
PY - 2015/6/1
Y1 - 2015/6/1
N2 - A series of MFI (modified fouling index) measurements were performed to evaluate and predict organic fouling potential and mechanism in seawater reverse osmosis (SWRO) desalination, by employing a multiple membrane array system (MMAS) in which microfiltration (MF), loose and tight ultrafiltration (UF) membranes were configured in a consecutive manner to determine the MFIs of particles, colloids, and organics. The results suggested that organic fractions manifested by colloid-MFI should be removed to control organic fouling effectively, as the organic fraction with MW ranging from 30 to 300kDa led to the most severe fouling in RO experiments. The variations in fouling potential according to solution conditions (i.e., pH and Ca2+) were also more accurately evaluated using multiple MFIs than with conventional SDI. This work demonstrated that the current fouling index, relying on a single membrane, could be improved by utilizing multiple membranes with different characteristics (e.g., pore size and hydrophobicity) to assess the fouling behavior of specific organic fractions.
AB - A series of MFI (modified fouling index) measurements were performed to evaluate and predict organic fouling potential and mechanism in seawater reverse osmosis (SWRO) desalination, by employing a multiple membrane array system (MMAS) in which microfiltration (MF), loose and tight ultrafiltration (UF) membranes were configured in a consecutive manner to determine the MFIs of particles, colloids, and organics. The results suggested that organic fractions manifested by colloid-MFI should be removed to control organic fouling effectively, as the organic fraction with MW ranging from 30 to 300kDa led to the most severe fouling in RO experiments. The variations in fouling potential according to solution conditions (i.e., pH and Ca2+) were also more accurately evaluated using multiple MFIs than with conventional SDI. This work demonstrated that the current fouling index, relying on a single membrane, could be improved by utilizing multiple membranes with different characteristics (e.g., pore size and hydrophobicity) to assess the fouling behavior of specific organic fractions.
KW - Fouling index
KW - Modified fouling index (MFI)
KW - Multiple membrane array system (MMAS)
KW - Organic fouling
KW - Seawater reverse osmosis (SWRO)
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U2 - 10.1016/j.desal.2015.02.035
DO - 10.1016/j.desal.2015.02.035
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:84923250117
VL - 365
SP - 136
EP - 143
JO - Desalination
JF - Desalination
SN - 0011-9164
ER -