• Membrane and Water Treatment
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• v.5 no.2
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• pp.73-86
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• 2014

Membrane fouling is a major challenge limiting the use of membrane applications. In this study high induced shear rates were utilized at the membrane surface in order to reduce the organic and inorganic scaling by using the torsional vibration of flat sheet membranes. The performances of a vibratory shear-enhanced processing (VSEP) system for the ultrafiltration (UF), nanofiltration (NF) and reverse osmosis (RO) membrane filtration of industrial dairy wastewater were investigated. The vibration and non-vibration methods were compared with the same membrane and operational parameters during the purification of real dairy industrial process wastewater. In the initial experiments, short-term tests were carried out in which the effects of vibration amplitude, recirculation flow rate and transmembrane pressure were measured and compared. The permeate flux, turbidity, conductivity and chemical oxygen demand (COD) reduction of dairy wastewater were investigated by using UF, NF and RO membranes with vibration and non-vibration methods. In the subsequent experiments, concentration tests were also carried out. Finally, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) revealed that the vibration method gave a better performance, which can be attributed to the higher membrane shear rate, which reduces the concentration of solids at the membrane, and the transmission.

• Membrane and Water Treatment
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• v.1 no.3
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• pp.193-206
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• 2010

Organic fouling and biofouling pose a significant challenge to the membrane filtration process. Photocatalysis-membrane hybrid system is a novel idea for reducing these membranes fouling however, when $TiO_2 photocatalyst nanoparticles are used in suspension, catalyst recovery is not only imposes an extra step on the process but also significantly contributes to increased membrane resistance and reduced permeate flux. In this study, $TiO_2$ photocatalyst has been immobilized by coating on the microfiltration (MF) membrane surface to minimize organic and microbial fouling. Nano-sized $TiO_2$ was first synthesized by a sol-gel method. The synthesized $TiO_2$ was coated on a Poly Vinyl Difluoride (PVDF) membrane (MF) surface using spray coating and dip coating techniques to obtain hybrid functional composite membrane. The characteristics of the synthesized photocatalyst and a functional composite membrane were studied using numerous instruments in terms of physical, chemical and electrical properties. In comparison to the clean PVDF membrane, the $TiO_2$ coated MF membrane was found more effective in removing methylene blue (20%) and E-coli (99%).

• Membrane and Water Treatment
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• v.8 no.1
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• pp.89-112
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• 2017

Dyeing wastewaters are the most problematic wastewater in textile industries and also, growing amounts of waste fibers in carpet industries have concerned environmental specialists. Among different treatment methods, membrane filtration processes as energy-efficient and compatible way, were utilized for several individual problems. In this research, novel hybrid membranes were prepared by waste fibers of mechanical carpets as useful resource of membrane matrix and industrial graphite powder as filler to eliminate Chrysophenine GX from dyeing wastewater. These membranes were expected to be utilized for first stage of hybrid membrane filtration process including (adsorption-ultrafiltration) and nanofiltration in Kashan Textile Company. For scaling of membrane filtration process, fouling mechanism of these membranes were recognized and explained by the use of genetic algorithm, as well. The graphite increased rejection and diminished permeate flux at low concentration but in high concentration, the performance was significantly worsened. Among all hybrid membranes, 18% wt. waste fibers-1% wt. graphite membrane had the best performance and minimum fouling. The maximum pore size of this optimum membrane was ranged from 16.10 to 18.72 nm.

• Membrane and Water Treatment
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• v.8 no.6
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• pp.529-541
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• 2017

A multi-effect air gap membrane distillation (ME-AGMD) module for pesticide wastewater treatment is studied with internal heat recovery, sensible heat of brine recovery, number of stages and the use of fresh feed as cooling water in a single module is implemented in this study. A flat sheet polytetrafluroethylene (PTFE) membrane was used in the 4-stage ME-AGMD module. The maximum value of permeate flux could reach $38.62L/m^2h$ at feed -coolant water temperature difference about $52^{\circ}C$. The performance parameter of the module like, specific energy consumption and gain output ratio (GOR) was investigated for the module with and without heat recovery. Also, the module performance was characterized with respect to the separation efficiency of several important water quality parameters. The removal efficiency of the module was found to be >98.8% irrespective water quality parameters. During the experiment the membrane fouling was caused due to the deposition of the salt/crystal on the membrane surface. The membrane fouling was controlled by membrane module washing cycle 9 h and also by acidification of the feed water (pH=4) using 0.1M HCl solution.

• Journal of Korean Society of Water and Wastewater
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.177-184
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• 2011

Membrane fouling is an unavoidable phenomenon in operation of seawater reverse osmosis (SWRO) and major obstacle for economic and efficient operation. When fouling occurs on the membrane surface, the permeate flux is decreased, on the contrary, the trans-membrane pressure (TMP) is increased, therefore operation and maintaining costs and potential damage of membranes are able to the pivotal risks of the process. Chemical cleaning process is essential to prevent interruptions for effective RO membrane filtration process. This study focused on proper chemical cleaning condition for polyamide RO membranes of 4 companies. Several chemical agents were applied for chemical cleaning under numbers of operating conditions. Additionally, a monitoring tool of FEEM as autopsy analysis method is adapted for the prediction of organic bio-fouling.

• Membrane Journal
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• v.4 no.1
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• pp.57-62
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• 1994

This study uses pervaporation process to separate small amount of organic trichloroethylene, chloroform and perchloroethylene from contaminated water, since chlorinated hydrocarbones are known to be cancer suspecting compounds. For the separation of small amount of halogenated organic compound dissolved in wastewater, pervaporation membranes should be polymers that possess affinity with orgnic compounds and hydrophobicity. We used polyisobutylene, polyetheramide and polydimethylsiloxane membranes. The degree of affinity between organics and polymers were measured by contact angle method. We had good separation results that separation factor ranged from 34 to 19100 and permeate flux was$19.7~140g/m^2hr$.

• Membrane Journal
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• v.6 no.4
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• pp.242-249
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• 1996

To improve pervaporation performance of water/ethanol mixtures, chitosan/poly(vinyl alcohol) blended and phosphorylated chitosan composite membranes were prepared. Chitosan/poly(vinyl alcohol) blends were prepared with various blend ratios and then crosslinked with glutaraldehyde by two methods. With increasing crosslinking agent content and crosslinking times separation factor increased and permeate flux decreased. Separation factor of the membrane which contains glutaraldehyde as a crosslinking agent was higher than that of the membrane surface crosslinked. Phosphorylated chitosan was prepared with various reaction times and composite membrane was prepared. As reaction times increased, the separation factor increased with high affinity for water.

• Membrane and Water Treatment
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• v.6 no.1
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• pp.15-26
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• 2015

The compact structure and high-quality effluent of membrane bioreactors make them well-suited for decentralized greywater reclamation. However, the occurrence of membrane fouling continues to limit their effectiveness. To address this concern, a unique membrane module configuration was developed for use in a decentralized greywater treatment system. The module featured local aeration directly below a series of inclined membrane bundles, giving the overall module a twisted appearance compared to a module with vertically orientated fibres. The intent of this design was to increase the frequency and intensity of collisions between rising air bubbles and the membrane surface. Material related to the construction of custom-fit modules is rarely communicated. Therefore, detailed design and assembly procedures were provided in this paper. The twisted module was compared to two commercially available modules with diverse specifications in order to assess the relative performance and marketability of the twisted module with respect to existing products. Contaminant removal efficiencies were determined in terms of biochemical oxygen demand, chemical oxygen demand, ammonia, total nitrogen, total phosphorus, and turbidity for each module. Membrane fouling was monitored in terms of permeate flux, transmembrane pressure, and membrane resistance. Following 168 h of operation, the twisted module configuration demonstrated competitive performance, indicating good potential for further development and commercialization.

• Proceedings of the Membrane Society of Korea Conference
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• 1997.04b
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• pp.45-47
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• 1997

정밀여과 및 한외여과에 의해 단백질 등과 같은 거대분자 물질을 분리정제할 경우 피할 수 없는 문제점은 막에 의해 분리된 거대부자들이 막표면에 쌓이는 농도분극(concentration polarization)현상과 이 누적된 거대분자가 막과의 상호작용에 의해 막표면 또는 막세공 내에 비가역적으로 침적되는 막오염(membrane fouling)현상이 일어난다는 점이다. 특히 막표면 또는 막세공 내에 분리대상 물질이 비가역적으로 침적되어 발생되는 막오염은 상대적으로 가역적 침적 과정인 농도분극보다 제어 또는 억제가 어려워 최근의 막분리 분야 연구의 상당 부분이 막오염 유발요인의 해석, 막오염을 효율적으로 제어 또는 억제하기 위한 방법의 연구에 집중되고 있다. 본 연구에서는 단백질 용액의 정밀여과시 단백질 변성이 막오염에 미치는 영향을 체계적으로 규명하기 위한 연구의 일환으로서 BSA를 분리대상 물질로하여, BSA용액을 미리 기계적 Shear(펌프 및 sonification), 열, 화학적 방법(pH 및 변성제)으로 변성시킨 후, 이 용액을 대상으로 회분식 정밀여과 실험을 수행하여 단백질 응집체 형성이 막투과량 감소에 미치는 영향을 실험적으로 검토하였으며, 각각의 막투과량 감소 특성을 아래의 4가지 blocking filtration law로서 해석하였다: complete blocking law, intermediate blocking law, standard blocking law, cake filtration law.

• Membrane Journal
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• v.11 no.4
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• pp.152-160
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• 2001

The pretreatment for COD removal of acrylic wastewater and separation characteristics of ultrafiltration hollow fiber type module and reverse osmosis spiral wound type module with the variation of applied pressure and temperature were discussed. Thc optimum washing time of membranes was decided with long team operation and the degree of fouling was discussed with operating time. Permeate flux was decreased rapidly at 14 hrs and that of reverse osmosis membrane was indicated similarly. CaO find sand filter for the first step, neutralization process with treated acrylic wastewater as the second step, UF/RO processes were used as final strep. It was shown treat COD and TDS were below allowable discharge value with the result.