• Membrane Journal
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.84-90
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• 2011

We studied the effects of induction of natural convection instability flow (NCIF) according to the gravitational orientation (inclined angle) of the membrane cell on the reduction of membrane fouling in ultrafiltration (UF) of colloidal silica solutions. Five colloidal silica solutions with different silica size (average size = 7, 12, 22, 50 and 78 nm) were used as UF test solutions. The silica particles in colloidal solutions form cakes on the membrane surface thereby causing severe reduction in the flux. The UF performance according to the gravitational orientation of the membrane cell (from 0 to $180^{\circ}$ inclined angle), was examined in an unstirred dead-end cell. We evaluate the effects of NCIF on membrane performance as the flux enhancement ($E_i$). In the dead-end UF of smaller size (7, 12 and 22 nm) silica colloidal solutions, changing the gravitational orientation (inclined angle) of the membrane cell induces NCIF in the membrane module and higher inclined angle and smaller size silica colloidal solution offer more stronger NCIF. This induced NCIF enhances back transport of the deposited silica solutes away from the membrane surface, therefore gives for the improvement of permeate flux. But in UF of more larger size (50 and 78 nm) silica colloidal solutions, NCIF effects are not appearing. These results suggest that the size of colloidal particle affects the extent of NCIF occurrence.