Journal article
The influence of feed pH on the performance of a reverse osmosis membrane during alginate fouling
T Hoang, GW Stevens, SE Kentish
Desalination and Water Treatment | TAYLOR & FRANCIS INC | Published : 2012
Abstract
The performance of a brackish water reverse osmosis membrane in the presence of a model polysaccharide foulant, sodium alginate, is investigated. The concentration of foulant, the feed pH and the presence of calcium are all shown to impact upon this performance. The flux decline is greatest at low feed pH, high calcium concentrations and high foulant concentrations. Sodium and chloride rejection falls as foulant concentration increases, due to cakeenhanced osmotic pressure. Effects are again greatest at low feed pH and high calcium concentrations. In part, this reflects a shift of the isoelectric point of the membrane from 4.3 to below 3.0 as alginate is added, reflecting the lower pKa of th..
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Awarded by Australian Research Council
Funding Acknowledgements
Financial support for this project is provided by the CSIRO Water for a Healthy Country Flagship and the Australian Research Council (DP1093815) and this support is gratefully acknowledged. The authors would also like to thank GE Water for providing the RO membrane used in this work.