An Alternating, Current-Induced Electromagnetic Field for Membrane Fouling and Scaling Control during Desalination of Secondary Effluent from Municipal Wastewater
Membrane treatment of secondary effluent for reuse applications is a promising approach to expand water supplies and provide flexibility to water resources management. However, effective control of membrane fouling and scaling is crucial for cost-effective treatment and system resilience. This study...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2023-06-01
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| Series: | Water |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/15/12/2234 |
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| author | Juliano Penteado de Almeida Zachary Stoll Pei Xu |
| author_facet | Juliano Penteado de Almeida Zachary Stoll Pei Xu |
| author_sort | Juliano Penteado de Almeida |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Membrane treatment of secondary effluent for reuse applications is a promising approach to expand water supplies and provide flexibility to water resources management. However, effective control of membrane fouling and scaling is crucial for cost-effective treatment and system resilience. This study compared the performance of antiscalants to an alternating, current-induced electromagnetic field (EMF) as an alternative pretreatment method to reverse osmosis. Compared to the no-EMF control experiments, the EMF device resulted in 13% higher water recovery and 366% lower flux decline at 60% of water recovery, along with 2–8 times lower precipitation of fouling and scaling, as evidenced by scanning electron microscope, energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, and chemical extraction analysis. The combination of the EMF with antiscalant was more effective for reducing membrane fouling and scaling, increasing water recoveries up to 89.3%, as compared to the EMF (67.5%) and antiscalant-only (73.6%) configurations. This is the first study to demonstrate synergistic effects of using an EMF in combination with antiscalants and could lead to lower pretreatment costs. Additional research is required to quantify the economics of this approach and to fully understand the fundamental mechanisms governing fouling and scaling control by an EMF. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T01:49:19Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-aba4c5fa09404af89ca782ede8971c97 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2073-4441 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T01:49:19Z |
| publishDate | 2023-06-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
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| series | Water |
| spelling | doaj.art-aba4c5fa09404af89ca782ede8971c972023-11-18T13:05:09ZengMDPI AGWater2073-44412023-06-011512223410.3390/w15122234An Alternating, Current-Induced Electromagnetic Field for Membrane Fouling and Scaling Control during Desalination of Secondary Effluent from Municipal WastewaterJuliano Penteado de Almeida0Zachary Stoll1Pei Xu2Department of Civil Engineering, New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, NM 88003, USADepartment of Civil Engineering, New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, NM 88003, USADepartment of Civil Engineering, New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, NM 88003, USAMembrane treatment of secondary effluent for reuse applications is a promising approach to expand water supplies and provide flexibility to water resources management. However, effective control of membrane fouling and scaling is crucial for cost-effective treatment and system resilience. This study compared the performance of antiscalants to an alternating, current-induced electromagnetic field (EMF) as an alternative pretreatment method to reverse osmosis. Compared to the no-EMF control experiments, the EMF device resulted in 13% higher water recovery and 366% lower flux decline at 60% of water recovery, along with 2–8 times lower precipitation of fouling and scaling, as evidenced by scanning electron microscope, energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, and chemical extraction analysis. The combination of the EMF with antiscalant was more effective for reducing membrane fouling and scaling, increasing water recoveries up to 89.3%, as compared to the EMF (67.5%) and antiscalant-only (73.6%) configurations. This is the first study to demonstrate synergistic effects of using an EMF in combination with antiscalants and could lead to lower pretreatment costs. Additional research is required to quantify the economics of this approach and to fully understand the fundamental mechanisms governing fouling and scaling control by an EMF.https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/15/12/2234electromagnetic field (EMF)reverse osmosis (RO)municipal wastewater reclamationmembrane foulingmembrane scalingmembrane fouling characterization |
| spellingShingle | Juliano Penteado de Almeida Zachary Stoll Pei Xu An Alternating, Current-Induced Electromagnetic Field for Membrane Fouling and Scaling Control during Desalination of Secondary Effluent from Municipal Wastewater Water electromagnetic field (EMF) reverse osmosis (RO) municipal wastewater reclamation membrane fouling membrane scaling membrane fouling characterization |
| title | An Alternating, Current-Induced Electromagnetic Field for Membrane Fouling and Scaling Control during Desalination of Secondary Effluent from Municipal Wastewater |
| title_full | An Alternating, Current-Induced Electromagnetic Field for Membrane Fouling and Scaling Control during Desalination of Secondary Effluent from Municipal Wastewater |
| title_fullStr | An Alternating, Current-Induced Electromagnetic Field for Membrane Fouling and Scaling Control during Desalination of Secondary Effluent from Municipal Wastewater |
| title_full_unstemmed | An Alternating, Current-Induced Electromagnetic Field for Membrane Fouling and Scaling Control during Desalination of Secondary Effluent from Municipal Wastewater |
| title_short | An Alternating, Current-Induced Electromagnetic Field for Membrane Fouling and Scaling Control during Desalination of Secondary Effluent from Municipal Wastewater |
| title_sort | alternating current induced electromagnetic field for membrane fouling and scaling control during desalination of secondary effluent from municipal wastewater |
| topic | electromagnetic field (EMF) reverse osmosis (RO) municipal wastewater reclamation membrane fouling membrane scaling membrane fouling characterization |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/15/12/2234 |
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