A comparison of fouling and cleaning properties between ceramic and polymeric micro-filtration membranes for algal rich water

ABSTRACT This paper aimed to analyze and compare the cleaning properties and mechanisms of membrane fouling caused when filtering through ceramic and polymeric membranes using Chlorella. Accordingly, ceramic membranes made of silicon carbide and polymeric membranes made of polyvinylidene fluoride andchlorinated-poly vinyl chloride were used, and membrane fouling caused by Chlorella was analyzed using the filtration resistance model by changing the operating flux. Also, this study performed alkali cleaning for fouled membranes and aimed to derive the cleaning properties by analyzing Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) of cleaning wastewater. As a result, the compactness of cake layers increased with the hydrophobicity of the membrane surface, and it is considered that the membrane material characteristics are closely related to the cake layer formation. he cleaning properties were derived by analyzing chemical cleaning wastewater of fouled membranes. The FTIR peak of polysaccharide and protein decreased with increasing specific cake resistance. These results had an effect on removing foulants depending on the cake layer characteristics of foulants attached to the membrane surface in chemical cleaning. Particularly, cake layers with a compact structure had a direct effect on removing polysaccharide among foulants in chemical cleaning. Thus, it is considered that a cake structure is an important element in cleaning efficiency.