Suchergebnisse

A novel antifouling coating of ultrafiltration (UF) commercial membranes, based on a polymerisable bicontinuous microemulsion (PBM) technique, was developed and tested for the first time in a membrane bioreactor (MBR) using an artificial model textile dye wastewater and compared with a commercial uncoated UF membrane. The results showed that the commercial MBR module faced severe fouling problems whereas the novel coated PBM MBR module reduced the fouling significantly. The analysis of fouling rate using a resistance model confirms that PBM coated membrane has a higher antifouling effect. The antimicrobial properties of the PBM membrane contributed by polymerisable cationic surfactant acryloyloxyundecyltriethylammonium bromide (AUTEAB) guaranteed an anti-biofouling effect preventing the growth of microorganisms on the membrane surface. In addition, the PBM MBR module showed 10±1% higher blue dye removal efficiency and a similar rate of COD removal efficiency of about 95±1% compared to commercial module. However, water permeability was slightly lower due to extra resistance of the PBM coating. Root mean squared (RMS) roughness measurement and analysis of AFM images confirmed that the stable novel membrane coating still existed and showed antimicrobial effect even after 105 days of operation. The results obtained demonstrated the potential of the low fouling PBM membrane. ; European Union within BioNexGen project (CP-FP-246039-2 EU-FP7)

Sergio Santoro acknowledges the European Commission for the financial support: The Education, Audiovisual and Culture Executive Agency (EU-EACEA) within the EUDIME Erasmus Mundus Doctorate in Membrane Engineering program (FPA 2011-0014, SGA 2012-1719, Edition II, http://eudime.unical.it). Ivan Moreno acknowledges the PhD grant from the Aragon Government, DGA, reference B008/12. ; Membrane distillation (MD) has recently gained considerable attention as a valid process for the production of fresh-water due to its ability to exploit low grade waste heat for operation and to ensure a nearly feed concentration-independent production of high-purity distillate. Limitations have been related to polarization phenomena negatively affecting the thermal efficiency of the process and, as a consequence, its productivity. Several theoretical models have been developed to predict the impact of the operating conditions of the process on the thermal polarization, but there is a lack of experimental validation. In this study, electrospun nanofiber membranes (ENMs) made of Poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) and doped with (1, 10-phenanthroline) ruthenium (II) Ru(phen) 3 were tested at different operating conditions (i.e., temperature and velocity of the feed) in direct contact membrane distillation (DCMD). The temperature sensitive luminophore, Ru(phen) 3 , allowed the on-line and non-invasive mapping of the temperature at the membrane surface during the process and the experimental evaluation of the effect of the temperature and velocity of the feed on the thermal polarization. ; publishersversion ; published

An innovative hydrophilic and anti-fouling coating material for application in membrane technology for wastewater treatment has been developed by polymerization of a polymerizable bicontinuous microemulsion (PBM) and used for surface modification of a commercial flat polyethersulfone (PES) membrane. The novel nanostructured coating has been produced using acryloyloxyundecyltriethylammonium bromide (AUTEAB) as a co-polymerizable surfactant, obtained through a synthetic method characterized by a lower cost and a higher reproducibility compared to other known polymerizable surfactants. The novel composite membranes have been characterized and compared with the uncoated PES membranes. Coated membranes resulted in a smoother surface and a higher hydrophilicity with respect to the uncoated ones, and showed a particular nano-size channel-like morphology making them highly resistant to the fouling phenomenon. The covalent anchorage of the surfactant on the membrane surface ensured the embedment of the molecule in the polymeric matrix avoiding its leaching and also leading the coated membranes to have significant antimicrobial activity, which is very important for reducing the biofouling phenomenon.All these aspects make the tailored coating material an ideal and efficient coating for modifications of commercial membrane surfaces, to be used in membrane processes in wastewater treatment. ; European Union within the BioNexGen project EU-F17/project (CP-FP-246039-2)