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AuthorBai, Weiliang
AuthorXu, Ruizhe
AuthorKing, Daniel
AuthorBoehnke, Adam
AuthorKrupa, Igor
AuthorKasak, Peter
AuthorPopelka, Anton
AuthorSaleh, Navid B.
AuthorKumar, Manish
Available date2024-08-15T06:46:36Z
Publication Date2024
Publication NameDesalination
ResourceScopus
ISSN119164
URIhttp://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.desal.2024.117829
URIhttp://hdl.handle.net/10576/57745
AbstractSilica fouling is a major challenge in groundwater reverse osmosis (RO) desalination. Dissolved silica, upon concentration during RO, forms a difficult-to-clean glassy foulant layer on membranes, limiting recoveries from brackish groundwater desalination systems. Further, dissolved silica interacts strongly with organic matter to enhance fouling and degrade membrane performance. In this work, we demonstrate an innovative coating approach employing catalytic metal oxides on polyamide RO membranes using polydopamine (PDA) that greatly mitigates fouling and alleviates concentration polarization (CP). By injecting hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) into the feed, oxygen (O2) bubbles were formed through the catalytic disproportionation of manganese dioxide (MnO2). The produced O2 bubbles increased turbulence in the boundary layer, which reduced both CP and silica fouling. Fouling was further reduced in the presence of humic acid, likely because of enhancement of the catalytic action of MnO2 in the presence of humic acid. Compared to other silica scaling control methods, which require high energy consumption, the use of H2O2 to generate bubbles consumes much less energy. Overall, PDA-encapsulated catalytic MnO2 particles in the presence of H2O2 increased the effectiveness of thin-film composite desalination membranes without impacting their integrity in short-term tests, indicating its potential for improving energy efficiency in RO systems.
SponsorThis publication was made possible by NPRP-Standard (NPRP-S) Thirteenth (13th) Cycle grant # NPRP13S-0123-200153 from the Qatar National Research Fund (a member of Qatar Foundation). The findings herein reflect the work, and are solely the responsibility of the authors.
Languageen
PublisherElsevier
SubjectActive membranes
Catalytic membranes
Concentration polarization
Dissolved silica antifouling
Reverse osmosis
TitleReverse osmosis silica fouling control with reactive micromixing
TypeArticle
Volume Number586
dc.accessType Full Text


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