Cleaning UF membranes with simple and formulated solutions

The ultrafiltration membranes fouled by proteins are typically cleaned by consecutive soaking in alkali, surfactant and oxidizing solutions. We combined all three chemicals into a formulated cleaning agent and examined its efficiency to restore the water flux without damaging the membrane or enhanci...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inChemical engineering science Vol. 69; no. 1; pp. 679 - 683
Main Authors Levitsky, Inna, Duek, Aviv, Naim, Ronen, Arkhangelsky, Elizabeth, Gitis, Vitaly
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Kidlington Elsevier Ltd 13.02.2012
Elsevier
Subjects
Applied sciences
BSA
Chemical engineering
Cleaning efficiency
Cleaning intensity
Exact sciences and technology
Filtration
Liquid-liquid and fluid-solid mechanical separations
Membrane separation (reverse osmosis, dialysis...)
PES
Protein separation
PVDF
Protein separation
Cleaning intensity
BSA
Cleaning efficiency
PVDF
PES
Fouling
Filtration
Cleaning
Surfactant
Composite material
Membrane separation
Ultrafiltration
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Summary:The ultrafiltration membranes fouled by proteins are typically cleaned by consecutive soaking in alkali, surfactant and oxidizing solutions. We combined all three chemicals into a formulated cleaning agent and examined its efficiency to restore the water flux without damaging the membrane or enhancing protein fouling. Lower concentrations of ingredients in the composite were required to restore the water flux to the initial level. The membrane after the cleaning remained intact and subsequent filtration left trace protein amount on the membrane surface. We propose a mechanism of cleaning based on a fast penetration of alkali and oxidizing ingredients through a fouling layer and efficient micellation of detached foulants with surfactant.
ISSN:0009-2509
1873-4405
DOI:10.1016/j.ces.2011.10.060