한양대학교 산학협력단

SCI-E Article

Author: Khan, Imtiaz Afzal (Dept Civil & Environm Engn); Lee, Yong Soo (Dept Civil & Environm Engn); 김종오 (Dept Civil & Environm Engn);

Corresponding Author Info: Kim, JO (corresponding author), Hanyang Univ, Dept Civil & Environm Engn, 222 Wangsimni Ro, Seoul 04763, South Korea.

Abstract: The goal of this study was to evaluate membrane degradation after 10 clean-in-place (CIP) cycles for poly-vinylidene fluoride (PVDF) membranes exposed to chemically enhanced pretreated (CEPT) feed water under constant flux (CF) and constant pressure (CP) filtration modes. Cycles of filtration (20 min) and backwashing (3 min) were employed for both filtration modes for a period of 10 h, followed by the CIP process. The changes in the membrane pore size distribution, membrane symmetry, and bond structure were analyzed using the Brunauer-Emmett-Teller method, scanning electron microscopy, and Fourier-transform infrared radiation, respectively. Severe damage to the membrane pores and significant structural variation were observed with the use of untreated feed water, particularly under CF mode, due to the defluorination and oxidation of the mem-brane arising from the action of the residual inorganic foulants and cleaning chemicals. Membranes exposed to CEPT feed water exhibited a recovery of 79 % and 83 % of the initial membrane flux under CF and CP modes, respectively at end of study. Interestingly, a decrease in irreversible fouling of 16.7 % was observed for CEPT feed water, with fewer inorganic foulants (Al and Mn) on the membrane surface. The fouling propensity was 14.54 % and 14.78 % lower when using CEPT feed water under CP and CF modes.

Funding: National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) - Korean government [2022R1A5A1032539]; Higher Education Commission (HEC) of Pakistan scholarship