Measuring hydraulic layer resistance and correlated effects in colloidal fouling of salt-retaining membranes

Abstract

Colloidal fouling is one of the main reasons for the reduced efficiency of membrane-based water desalination processes. The synchrony of several resistance mechanisms like hydraulic, osmotic, and electro-kinetic as well as numerous coupling effects complicate the analysis of their individual contributions to the fouling extent. A new measuring approach using a dead-end filtration test-cell allows exactly this, irrespective of any simultaneously occurring concentration polarization phenomena. First results show that the hydraulic resistance of a fully developed colloidal layer is not exclusively determined by the physicochemical properties of its constituents but seems to be strongly dependent on the specific way of its formation (e.g. ionic strength prevailing during layer build-up or filtration sequence of different particle sizes). This time-dependent effect is largely irreversible and therefore most likely due to persistent changes in fouling layer structure. A minor reversible ionic strength effect could also be demonstrated. The extent of this effect is identical irrespective of whether the ionic strength is increased or decreased. Results further indicate that commonly applied models like the Kozeny–Carman equation are lacking a size-dependent parameter that causes a disproportionate decrease of colloidal fouling layer resistance with decreasing foulant particle size.