• Journal of Korean Society of Water and Wastewater
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• v.32 no.1
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• pp.47-53
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• 2018

This study investigated phosphorus removal from secondary treated effluent using coagulation-membrane separation hybrid treatment to satisfy strict regulation in wastewater treatment. The membrane separation process was used to remove suspended phosphorus particles after coagulation/settlement. Membrane separation with $0.2{\mu}m$ pore size of micro filtration membrane could reduce phosphorus concentration to 0.02 mg P/L after coagulation with 1 mg Al/L dose of polyaluminum chloride (PACl). Regardless of coagulant, the residual concentration of phosphorus decreased as the dose increased from 1.5 to 3.5 mg Al/L, while the target concentration of 0.05 mg P/L or less was achieved at 2.5 mg Al/L for the aluminum sulfate (Alum) and 3.5 mg Al/L for PACl. Moreover, alum showed better membrane flux as make bigger particles than PACl. Alum showed a 40% of flux decrease at 2.5 mg Al/L dose, while PACl indicated a 50% decrease of membrane flux even with a higher dose of 3.5 mg Al/L. Thus, alum was more effective coagulant than PACl considering phosphorus removal and membrane flux as well as its dose. Consequently, the coagulation-membrane separation hybrid treatment could be mitigate regulation on phosphorus removal as unsettleable phosphorus particles were effectively removed by membrane after coagulation.

• Membrane Journal
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• v.26 no.5
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• pp.391-400
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• 2016

In this work, novel thin film composite (TFC) forward osmosis (FO) membranes are developed via interfacial polymerization on the polysulfone (PS) substrate, using TEOS as the a sol-gel reagent to form hydrophilic interlayer polymer between PS and polyamide (PA). The PS substrate was cast on a very thin polyester nonwoven to reduce membrane resistance. With the incorporation of TEOS (tetraethoxy silane) polymer in the interface between PS and PA, the formed TFC FO membrane exhibits better hydrophilicity and improved water flux, and therefore superior membrane performance. By changing the polymerization sequence of PA interfacial polymerization and TEOS sol-gel condensation, the surface properties and performance of FO membranes are changed significantly. The permeability of FO membranes were estimated using the bench-scale FO test equipment. The distribution of the polysiloxane on composite membrane and morphology are also studied with FE-SEM and EDAX. The PS_PA_TEOS membrane showed highly enhanced water flux (79.2 LMH) but reverse salt flux (RSF) value (7.10 GMH) also increased. However, the flux of PS_TEOS_PA membrane increased moderately (54.1 LMH) without increasing RSF value (1.60 GMH) compare with PS_PA membrane.

• Membrane Journal
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• v.29 no.3
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• pp.147-154
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• 2019

The permeate flux increments of a natural convection instability flow (NCIF) caused by the change of inclined angles ($0{\sim}180^{\circ}$) to gravity of the commercial membrane module were tested in the dead-end membrane filtration of BSA protein solution. The NCIF are more generated as the inclined angle increased from $0^{\circ}$ to $180^{\circ}$, and the occurred NCIF enhances permeate flux. However, the commercial module can only generate NCIF by completely removing the air gap in module. Since the custom design module designed in this study is permeated in a crossward direction ($90^{\circ}$), NCIF is always generated even if there is the air gap in module. The results of membrane filtration of BSA and dextran solutions using a custom design module showed that the flux in the crossward direction is increased to about 3.8 times for BSA solution and 1.8 times for dextran solution after two hours of operation due to the occurrence of NCIF. Also, NCIF generation is continued during 20 hours filtration of BSA solution, increasing the permeate flux to about 7.5 times. Since the custom design module with a permeation in the crossward direction and NCIF is always generated within the module, so it is possible to expect an increase in permeate flux due to the suppression of fouling formation, and thus to be utilized as a superb dead-end membrane module.

• Membrane and Water Treatment
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• v.7 no.5
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• pp.377-401
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• 2016

To study the effect of titanium dioxide ($TiO_2$) nanoparticles on membrane performance and structure and to explore possible improvement of using mixed solvents in the casting solution, composite polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) ultrafiltration membranes were prepared via immersion precipitation method using a mixture of two solvents triethyl phosphate (TEP) and dimethylacetamide (DMAc) and addition of $TiO_2$ nanoparticles. Properties of the neat and composite membranes were characterized using scanning electron microscope (SEM), energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), Atomic force microscopy (AFM) and contact angle and membrane porosity measurements. The neat and composite membranes were further investigated in terms of BSA rejection and flux decline in cross flow filtration experiments. Following hydrophilicity improvement of the PVDF membrane by addition of 0.25 wt.% $TiO_2$, (from $70.53^{\circ}$ to $60.5^{\circ}$) degree of flux decline due to irreversible fouling resistance of the composite membrane reduced significantly and the flux recovery ratio (FRR) of 96.85% was obtained. The results showed that using mixed solvents (DMAc/TEP) with lower content of $TiO_2$ nanoparticles (0.25 wt.%) affected the sedimentation rate of nanoparticles and consequently the distribution of nanoparticles in the casting solution and membrane formation which influenced the properties of the ultimate composite membranes.

• Macromolecular Research
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• v.12 no.6
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• pp.553-558
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• 2004

An ultrafiltration membrane (polyethersulfone, PM 10) was surface-modified by treating it with low-tem­perature plasmas of oxygen, acrylic acid (AA), acetylene, diaminocyolohexane (DACH), and hexamethyldisiloxane (HMDSO). The effects that these modifications have on the filtration efficiency of a membrane in waste water treat­ment were investigated. The oxygen, AA, and DACH plasma-treated membranes became more hydrophilic. The water contact angles ranged from < $10^{\circ}\;to\;55^{\circ}$ depending on the type of plasma and the treatment conditions. The oxygen plasma-treated membranes displayed a higher initial flux $(312-429\%),$ but lower rejection $(6-91\%),$ than did an untreated membrane. The AA plasma-treated membranes displayed lower or higher initial flux $(42-156\%),$ depending upon the treatment conditions, but higher rejection $(224-295\%)$ in all cases. The DACH plasma-treated membranes displayed lower initial flux. All of them, especially the AA plasma-treated membrane, displayed improved fouling resistance with either a slower or no flux decline. Acetylene and HMDSO plasma-treated membranes became more hydrophobic and displayed both lower initial flux and lower fouling resistance.

• Journal of Korean Society of Water and Wastewater
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• v.34 no.6
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• pp.393-402
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• 2020

In the membrane process, it is important to improve water treatment efficiency to ensure water quality and minimize membrane fouling. In this study, a pilot study of membrane process using reservoir water was conducted for a long time to secure high flux operation technology capable of responding to influent turbidity changes. The raw water and DAF(Dissolved Air Flotation) treated water were used for influent water of membrane to analyze the effect of water quality on the TMP (Trans Membrane Pressure) and to optimize the membrane operation. When the membrane flux were operated at 70 LMH and 80 LMH under stable water quality conditions with an inlet turbidity of 10 NTU or less, the TMP increase rates were 0.28 and 0.24 kPa/d, respectively, with minor difference. When the membrane with high flux of 80 LMH was operated for a long time under inlet turbidity of 10 NTU or more, the TMP increase rate showed the maximum of 43.5 kPa/d. However, when the CEB(Chemically Enhanced Backwash) cycle was changed from 7 to 1 day, it was confirmed that the TMP increase rate was stable to 0.23 kPa/d. As a result of applying pre-treatment process(DAF) on unstability water quality conditions, it was confirmed that the TMP rise rates differed by 0.17 and 0.64 kPa/d according to the optimization of the coagulant injection. When combined with coagulation pretreatment, it was thought that the balance with the membrane process was more important than the emphasis on efficiency of the pretreatment process. It was considered that stable TMP can be maintained by optimizing the cleaning conditions when the stable or unstable water quality even in the high flux operation on membrane process.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Environmental Technology
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• v.19 no.6
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• pp.543-549
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• 2018

In this study, the treatment efficiency of inorganic membrane according to the flux that blending raw water was investigated at the laboratory level. Based on the results of each blending and flux, we obtained the best efficiency according to each measurement item. The treatment efficiencies were different depending on the raw water and treatment amount of the treated water. Especially, turbidity removal efficiency was high. In the case of $UV_{254}$, the removal efficiency according to the concentration of the raw water and the removal efficiency according to the flux of the treated water showed a maximum of 69 % to minimum of 48 %. In the case of TOC and DOC, the processing efficiency was 22 % and 28 %, respectively, because the organic value of the raw water was low. These results suggest that there is an optimal process to effectively remove contaminants from the inorganic membrane process, and it is necessary to optimize it according to operating conditions.

• KSBB Journal
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• v.4 no.1
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• pp.57-61
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• 1989

The feasibility of separating Pichia stipitis from a fermentation broth using a hollow fiber membrane was evaluated. The permeate flux was affected by such parameters as cell concentration, pH, content of antifoam agents, suction pressure, and recirculation rate. A minor effect of temperature on the flux loss was also observed. A microcomputer-aided backflush was proven effective in alleviating membrane fouling and allowing long term separation of P. stipitis from a fermentation broth.

• Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.24 no.2
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• pp.347-353
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• 2019

Although membrane distillation (MD) has great promise for desalination of saline water sources, it is crucial to improve its thermal efficiency to reduce the operating cost. Accordingly, this study intended to examine the thermal energy efficiency of MD modules in a pilot scale system. Two different modules of hollow fiber membranes were compared in direct contact MD mode. One of them was made of polypropylene with the effective membrane area of $2.6m^2$ and the other was made of polyvinylidene fluoride with the effective membrane area of $7.6m^2$. The influence of operation parameters, including the temperatures of feed and distillate, feed flow rate, and distillate flow rate on the flux, recovery, and performance ratio (PR), was investigated. Results showed that the two MD membranes showed different flux and PR values even under similar conditions. Moreover, both flow rate and temperature difference between feed and distillate significantly affect the PR values. These results suggest that the operating conditions for MD should be determined by considering the module properties.

• Korean Membrane Journal
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• v.7 no.1
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• pp.1-18
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• 2005

The permeate flux decline due to membrane fouling can be addressed using a variety of theoretical stand-points. Judicious selection of an appropriate theory is a key toward successful prediction of the permeate flux. The essential criterion f3r such a decision appears to be a detailed characterization of the feed solution and membrane properties. Modem theories are capable of accurately predicting several properties of colloidal systems that are important in membrane separation processes from fundamental information pertaining to the particle size, charge, and solution ionic strength. Based on such information, it is relatively straight-forward to determine the properties of the concentrated colloidal dispersion in a polarized layer or the cake layer properties. Incorporation of such information in the framework of the standard theories of membrane filtration, namely, the convective diffusion equation coupled with an appropriate permeate transport model, can lead to reasonably accurate prediction of the permeate flux due to colloidal fouling. The schematic of the essential approach has been delineated in Figure 5. The modern approaches based on appropriate cell models appear to predict the permeate flux behavior in crossflow membrane filtration processes quite accurately without invoking novel theoretical descriptions of particle back transport mechanisms or depending on adjust-able parameters. Such agreements have been observed for a wide range of particle size ranging from small proteins like BSA (diameter ${\~}$6 nm) to latex suspensions (diameter ${\~}1\;{\mu}m$). There we, however, several areas that need further exploration. Some of these include: 1) A clear mechanistic description of the cake formation mechanisms that clearly identifies the disorder to order transition point in different colloidal systems. 2) Determining the structure of a cake layer based on the interparticle and hydrodynamic interactions instead of assuming a fixed geometrical structure on the basis of cell models. 3) Performing well controlled experiments where the cake deposition mechanism can be observed for small colloidal particles (< $1\;{\mu}m$). 4) A clear mechanistic description of the critical operating conditions (for instance, critical pressure) which can minimize the propensity of colloidal membrane fluting. 5) Developing theoretical approaches to account for polydisperse systems that can render the models capable of handing realistic feed solutions typically encountered in diverse applications of membrane filtration.