EDTA-based adsorption layer for mitigating FO membrane fouling via in situ removing calcium binding with organic foulants

Ling Li, Xinhua Wang, Ming Xie, Hailong Wang, Xiufen Li, Yueping Ren

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

14 Citations (SciVal)
63 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

Forward osmosis (FO) is an emerging technology for wastewater treatment and reclamation. However, membrane fouling remains a strong hindrance to FO application. We proposed a novel approach for alleviating FO membrane fouling via in situ removing Ca 2+ binding with organic foulants using the EDTA-based adsorption layer. Results suggested that the EDTA-based adsorption layer can effectively remove the Ca 2+ binding with sodium alginate, and its adsorption capacity correspondingly increased as a function of Ca 2+ concentration in the feed solution. Owing to the effective extraction of Ca 2+ from the fouling layer by the EDTA-based adsorption layer, water flux of FO membrane was significantly enhanced, and fouling layer became easily removed by physical flushing, suggesting a remarkable alleviation of FO membrane fouling. Mitigation of FO membrane fouling by the EDTA-based adsorption layer was attributed to the fact that the fouling layer structure became more porous and looser after in situ removing Ca 2+ from the alginate-Ca 2+ gel networks. This study demonstrated a novel fouling control strategy via in situ removing Ca 2+ binding with the organic foulants, providing a new avenue for FO membrane fouling management.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)95-102
Number of pages8
JournalJournal of Membrane Science
Volume578
Early online date20 Feb 2019
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 15 May 2019

Keywords

  • Calcium
  • EDTA
  • Forward osmosis
  • Membrane fouling
  • Organic foulants

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Biochemistry
  • Materials Science(all)
  • Physical and Theoretical Chemistry
  • Filtration and Separation

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