Studying the role of common membrane surface functionalities on adsorption and cleaning of organic foulants using QCM-D

Alison E. Contreras, Zvi Steiner, Jing Miao, Roni Kasher, Qilin Li

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Adsorption of organic foulants on nanofiltration (NF) and reverse osmosis (RO) membrane surfaces strongly affects subsequent fouling behavior by modifying the membrane surface. In this study, impact on organic foulant adsorption of specific chemistries including those in commercial thin-film composite membranes was investigated using self-assembled monolayers with seven different ending chemical functionalities (-CH3, -O-phenyl, -NH2, ethylene-glycol, -COOH, -CONH2, and -OH). Adsorption and cleaning of protein (bovine serum albumin) and polysaccharide (sodium alginate) model foulants in two solution conditions were measured using quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation monitoring, and were found to strongly depend on surface functionality. Alginate adsorption correlated with surface hydrophobicity as measured by water contact angle in air; however, adsorption of BSA on hydrophilic -COOH, -NH2, and -CONH2 surfaces was high and dominated by hydrogen bond formation and electrostatic attraction. Adsorption of both BSA and alginate was the fastest on -COOH, and adsorption on -NH2 and -CONH2 was difficult to remove by surfactant cleaning. BSA adsorption kinetics was shown to be markedly faster than that of alginate, suggesting its importance in the formation of the conditioning layer. Surface modification to render -OH or ethylene-glycol functionalities are expected to reduce membrane fouling.

Original languageAmerican English
Pages (from-to)6309-6315
Number of pages7
JournalEnvironmental Science and Technology
Volume45
Issue number15
DOIs
StatePublished - 1 Aug 2011

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • General Chemistry
  • Environmental Chemistry

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