Deformation-induced cleaning of organically fouled membranes: Fundamentals and techno-economic assessment for spiral-wound membranes
Membrane fouling is a ubiquitous challenge in water treatment and desalination systems. Current reverse osmosis (RO) membrane cleaning technology relies on chemical processes, incurring considerable costs and generating waste streams. Here, we present a novel chemical-free membrane cleaning method a...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Elsevier BV
2021
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| Online Access: | https://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/130373 |
| _version_ | 1826197099458330624 |
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| author | Goon, Grace Swee See Labban, Omar Foo, Zi Hao Zhao, Xuanhe Lienhard, John H |
| author2 | Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics |
| author_facet | Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics Goon, Grace Swee See Labban, Omar Foo, Zi Hao Zhao, Xuanhe Lienhard, John H |
| author_sort | Goon, Grace Swee See |
| collection | MIT |
| description | Membrane fouling is a ubiquitous challenge in water treatment and desalination systems. Current reverse osmosis (RO) membrane cleaning technology relies on chemical processes, incurring considerable costs and generating waste streams. Here, we present a novel chemical-free membrane cleaning method applicable to commercially existing RO spiral-wound membrane modules. The method employs controlled membrane deformation through pressure modulation, which induces shear stresses at the foulant-membrane interface that lead to detachment and removal of the foulants. To investigate the effectiveness of the method, experiments on organic fouling by alginate are conducted on a flat-sheet membrane coupon followed by tests on a commercial spiral-wound module with feeds of varying fouling propensities. Cleaning durations are six-fold lower, and the experimental results demonstrate flux recoveries and cleaning efficiencies comparable to those of chemical cleaning. The experiments on the spiral-wound module indicate that this method will have applicability in industrially-relevant settings. To elucidate the underlying cleaning mechanisms, membrane deformation experiments with no flow are conducted, and in situ visualization techniques are employed for both the flat-sheet and spiral-wound modules. The results show that cleaning is caused by a reduction in shear strength at the foulant-membrane interface after cycles of repeated loading, a behavior typical of fatigue. By enabling more frequent cleanings, deformation-induced cleaning is shown to considerably lower operating costs in an economic case study while offering a more sustainable and environmentally sound solution to membrane cleaning and antifouling in desalination. |
| first_indexed | 2024-09-23T10:42:48Z |
| format | Article |
| id | mit-1721.1/130373 |
| institution | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-09-23T10:42:48Z |
| publishDate | 2021 |
| publisher | Elsevier BV |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | mit-1721.1/1303732022-09-27T14:27:03Z Deformation-induced cleaning of organically fouled membranes: Fundamentals and techno-economic assessment for spiral-wound membranes Goon, Grace Swee See Labban, Omar Foo, Zi Hao Zhao, Xuanhe Lienhard, John H Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Mechanical Engineering Membrane fouling is a ubiquitous challenge in water treatment and desalination systems. Current reverse osmosis (RO) membrane cleaning technology relies on chemical processes, incurring considerable costs and generating waste streams. Here, we present a novel chemical-free membrane cleaning method applicable to commercially existing RO spiral-wound membrane modules. The method employs controlled membrane deformation through pressure modulation, which induces shear stresses at the foulant-membrane interface that lead to detachment and removal of the foulants. To investigate the effectiveness of the method, experiments on organic fouling by alginate are conducted on a flat-sheet membrane coupon followed by tests on a commercial spiral-wound module with feeds of varying fouling propensities. Cleaning durations are six-fold lower, and the experimental results demonstrate flux recoveries and cleaning efficiencies comparable to those of chemical cleaning. The experiments on the spiral-wound module indicate that this method will have applicability in industrially-relevant settings. To elucidate the underlying cleaning mechanisms, membrane deformation experiments with no flow are conducted, and in situ visualization techniques are employed for both the flat-sheet and spiral-wound modules. The results show that cleaning is caused by a reduction in shear strength at the foulant-membrane interface after cycles of repeated loading, a behavior typical of fatigue. By enabling more frequent cleanings, deformation-induced cleaning is shown to considerably lower operating costs in an economic case study while offering a more sustainable and environmentally sound solution to membrane cleaning and antifouling in desalination. 2021-04-05T19:12:48Z 2021-04-05T19:12:48Z 2021-02 2021-01 2021-04-02T14:49:26Z Article http://purl.org/eprint/type/JournalArticle 0376-7388 https://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/130373 Goon, Grace S.S. et al. "Deformation-induced cleaning of organically fouled membranes: Fundamentals and techno-economic assessment for spiral-wound membranes." Journal of Membrane Science 626 (May 2021): 119169. © 2021 Elsevier B.V. en http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.memsci.2021.119169 Journal of Membrane Science Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/ application/pdf Elsevier BV Prof. Lienhard |
| spellingShingle | Goon, Grace Swee See Labban, Omar Foo, Zi Hao Zhao, Xuanhe Lienhard, John H Deformation-induced cleaning of organically fouled membranes: Fundamentals and techno-economic assessment for spiral-wound membranes |
| title | Deformation-induced cleaning of organically fouled membranes: Fundamentals and techno-economic assessment for spiral-wound membranes |
| title_full | Deformation-induced cleaning of organically fouled membranes: Fundamentals and techno-economic assessment for spiral-wound membranes |
| title_fullStr | Deformation-induced cleaning of organically fouled membranes: Fundamentals and techno-economic assessment for spiral-wound membranes |
| title_full_unstemmed | Deformation-induced cleaning of organically fouled membranes: Fundamentals and techno-economic assessment for spiral-wound membranes |
| title_short | Deformation-induced cleaning of organically fouled membranes: Fundamentals and techno-economic assessment for spiral-wound membranes |
| title_sort | deformation induced cleaning of organically fouled membranes fundamentals and techno economic assessment for spiral wound membranes |
| url | https://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/130373 |
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