Pradhan Muna, Johir Md Abu Hasan, Kandasamy Jaya, Ratnaweera Harsha, Vigneswaran Saravanamuthu
Faculty of Engineering, University of Technology Sydney (UTS), P.O. Box 123, Ultimo, NSW 2127, Australia.
BMB Engineers, P.O. Box 7842, Baulkhan Hills, NSW 2153, Australia.
Membranes (Basel). 2022 Aug 14;12(8):780. doi: 10.3390/membranes12080780.
Submerged microfiltration has a wide range of applications in water and wastewater treatment. Membrane fouling is a major problem, resulting in a severe decline in flux, high energy consumption and frequent membrane cleaning and replacement. The effect of viscosity was not previously studied under controlled conditions to relate it to the air scour. Hence, this study investigated the effect of viscosity on membrane fouling during the operation of submerged membrane microfiltration by adding predetermined amounts of glycerol to a kaolin clay suspension. The addition of glycerol increased the viscosity (from 0.001 to 0.003 Pa·s), resulting in a 3-fold higher transmembrane pressure (TMP) development. An increased airflow (air scour) rate by 3 fold (from 0.6 m/m/h to 1.8 m/m/h), reduced TMP development by 65%. Membrane fouling quickly developed during the initial stage of microfiltration operation. Therefore, special precautions to control fouling during the early stages of filtration could significantly enhance the operation of the microfilter. Higher airflow caused a reduction in average specific cake resistance, whereas higher viscosity increased this value.
浸没式微滤在水和废水处理中有着广泛的应用。膜污染是一个主要问题，会导致通量严重下降、能耗高以及频繁进行膜清洗和更换。之前未在可控条件下研究粘度与气洗之间的关系及其对膜污染的影响。因此，本研究通过向高岭土悬浮液中添加预定数量的甘油，来研究浸没式膜微滤运行过程中粘度对膜污染的影响。甘油的添加增加了粘度（从0.001 Pa·s增至0.003 Pa·s），导致跨膜压力（TMP）升高了3倍。气流量（气洗）速率提高3倍（从0.6 m/m/h增至1.8 m/m/h），使TMP升高降低了65%。在微滤运行的初始阶段，膜污染迅速发展。因此，在过滤早期采取特殊的防污措施可显著提高微滤器的运行效果。较高的气流量会导致平均比滤饼阻力降低，而较高的粘度会使该值升高。
