Predicting the fouling tendency of thin film composite membranes using fractal analysis and membrane autopsy.
Adeniyi, Amos Mbaya, Richard Popoola, Patricia Gomotsegang, Fred Ibrahim, Idowu Onyango, Maurice
Adeniyi, Amos
Mbaya, Richard
Popoola, Patricia
Gomotsegang, Fred
Ibrahim, Idowu
Onyango, Maurice
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Abstract
A new method of predicting fouling is proposed. The method involves the use of membrane autopsy and fractal analysis of the cake layer that was formed on the top of fouled membranes after the filtration experiment. The new method was verified using three different commercially available membranes made from the same material. The membrane autopsy was done on both virgin and fouled membranes using FT-IR and by application of WSxM 5.0 Develop 8.2 software to obtain 3D images from SEM images. The fractal analysis was also done using the same software. Results showed that the fouling tendency of the membrane can be predicted based on the fractal dimension of the fouling cake and fouled membrane autopsy. Fouling tendency was affected by the interaction of membrane properties that include porosity, hydrophilicity, and surface roughness. The result is applicable in comparison the fouling tendency of membranes and hence, be useful
in membrane selection for specific purposes.
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Date
2020-07-25
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Publisher
Elsevier
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Keywords
Membrane autopsy, Fractal analysis, Fouling tendency, Thin film composite, Fractal dimension