State Key Laboratory of Urban Water Resource and Environment, School of Environment, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin, 150090, China.
State Key Laboratory of Urban Water Resource and Environment, School of Environment, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin, 150090, China.
Water Res. 2024 Dec 1;267:122528. doi: 10.1016/j.watres.2024.122528. Epub 2024 Sep 26.
To address the issues of scaling caused by heat and water evaporation in regard to circulating cooling water (CCW), TFC membrane filtration systems have been increasingly considered for terminal treatment processes because of their excellent separation performance. However, membrane biofouling phenomenon significantly hinders the widespread utilization of TFC membranes. In this study, to harness the thermal phenomenon of CCW and establish a stable and durable multifunctional antibiofouling layer, temperature-responsive Pnipam and the spectral antibacterial agent Ag were organically incorporated into commercially available TFC membranes. Biological experimental findings demonstrated that above the lower critical solution temperature (LCST), the contraction of Pnipam molecular chains facilitated the inactivation of bacteria by the antibacterial agent, resulting in an impressive sterilization efficiency of up to 99 %. XDLVO analysis revealed that below the LCST, the establishment of a hydration layer on the functional interface resulted in the creation of elevated energy barriers, effectively impeding bacterial adhesion to the membrane surface. Consequently, a high bacterial release rate of 98.4 % was achieved on the low-temperature surface. The alterations in the functional membrane surface conformation induced by temperature variations further amplified the separation between the pollutants and the membrane, creating an enhanced "elastic interface." This efficient and straightforward cleaning procedure mitigated the formation of irreversible fouling without compromising the integrity of the membrane surface. This study presents a deliberately engineered thermoresponsive antibiofouling membrane interface to address the issue of membrane fouling in membrane-based CCW treatment systems while shedding new light on the mechanisms of "inactivation" and "defense."
为了解决循环冷却水中的热和水蒸发引起的规模问题，TFC 膜过滤系统因其出色的分离性能而越来越被视为终端处理过程。然而，膜生物污染现象严重阻碍了 TFC 膜的广泛应用。在这项研究中，为了利用 CCW 的热现象并建立稳定和持久的多功能抗生物污染层，温度响应性 Pnipam 和光谱抗菌剂 Ag 被有机地掺入市售的 TFC 膜中。生物实验结果表明，在低于低临界溶液温度 (LCST) 时，Pnipam 分子链的收缩有助于抗菌剂使细菌失活，从而达到高达 99%的令人印象深刻的杀菌效率。XDLVO 分析表明，在 LCST 以下，在功能界面上形成水合层会导致升高的能量势垒的建立，有效地阻止细菌在膜表面的附着。因此，在低温表面实现了高达 98.4%的高细菌释放率。温度变化引起的功能膜表面构象的改变进一步放大了污染物与膜之间的分离，创造了增强的“弹性界面”。这种高效、简单的清洁程序减轻了不可逆污染的形成，而不会损害膜表面的完整性。本研究提出了一种故意设计的温度响应性抗生物污染膜界面，以解决膜基 CCW 处理系统中的膜污染问题，同时为“失活”和“防御”机制提供了新的见解。
