Potential Pitfalls in Membrane Fouling Evaluation: Merits of Data Representation as Resistance Instead of Flux Decline in Membrane Filtration

Bastiaan Blankert, Bart Van der Bruggen, Amy E. Childress, NorEddine Ghaffour, Johannes S. Vrouwenvelder

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

6 Scopus citations

Abstract

The manner in which membrane-fouling experiments are conducted and how fouling performance data are represented have a strong impact on both how the data are interpreted and on the conclusions that may be drawn. We provide a couple of examples to prove that it is possible to obtain misleading conclusions from commonly used representations of fouling data. Although the illustrative example revolves around dead-end ultrafiltration, the underlying principles are applicable to a wider range of membrane processes. When choosing the experimental conditions and how to represent fouling data, there are three main factors that should be considered: (I) the foulant mass is principally related to the filtered volume; (II) the filtration flux can exacerbate fouling effects (e.g., concentration polarization and cake compression); and (III) the practice of normalization, as in dividing by an initial value, disregards the difference in driving force and divides the fouling effect by different numbers. Thus, a bias may occur that favors the experimental condition with the lower filtration flux and the less-permeable membrane. It is recommended to: (I) avoid relative fouling performance indicators, such as relative flux decline (J/J0); (II) use resistance vs. specific volume; and (III) use flux-controlled experiments for fouling performance evaluation.
Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)460
JournalMembranes
Volume11
Issue number7
DOIs
StatePublished - Jun 22 2021

Bibliographical note

KAUST Repository Item: Exported on 2021-06-25
Acknowledgements: The authors wish to thank Fauzi Ismail, Tony Fane, and Gary Amy for their valuable contributions to the discussions leading to this paper.

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • General Materials Science

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