• Journal of Korean Society on Water Environment
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• v.22 no.1
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• pp.140-144
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• 2006

This study was performed to investigate the effect of organic characteristics and feed water solution chemistry on membrane fouling index such as Silt Density Index (SDI) and Modified Fouling Index (MFI). Specifically, Aldrich humic acids (AHA) and Suwannee river humic acids (SHA) were used in SDI/MFI experiments. Higher SDI values were observed with increasing organic concentration. AHA with larger molecular weight (MW) and SUVA (${\approx}UV_{254}/TOC$) resulted in higher SDI values, compared to SHA. The feed solution chemistry (i.e, pH, ionic strength, and hardness) also affects SDI values to some degree. In particular, SDI increased with increasing hardness ($Ca^{2+}$) concentration for AHA. Unlike SDI, the MFI developed on the basis of particle cake filtration theory, was not accurately assessed due to internal fouling by organics such as pore adsorption and subsequent pore blocking.