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Chemical Engineering Journal, Volume 264, 15 March 2015, Pages 470-478.
Indok Nurul Hasyimah Mohd Amin1 , Abdul Wahab Mohammad2
- Section of Chemical Engineering Technology, Universiti Kuala Lumpur Malaysian Institute of Chemical & Bioengineering Technology, Lot 1988 Kaw. Perindustrian Bdr. Vendor, Taboh Naning, 78000 Alor Gajah, Melaka, Malaysia
- Department of Chemical and Process Engineering, Faculty of Engineering & Built Environment, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, 43600 Bangi, Selangor, Malaysia
Abstract
One of the major drawbacks for the success of ultrafiltration (UF) during pretreatment of glycerine-rich solutions (known as sweetwater) is membrane fouling due to the deposition of triglycerides (TGs) and fatty acids (FA). The aim of the present study was to contribute to the better understanding of fouling by TG as well as TG–FA mixtures and their adsorption properties on UF membranes. Two UF membranes were used with the membrane materials made from polyethersulfone (PES) and polyvinylidenefluoride (PVDF) with molecular weight cut-off (MWCO) between 5, 20 and 25 kDa for PES, and 30 kDa for PVDF. Static adsorption of TG and TG–FA was investigated at the solution pH values of 3, 7 and 10 for different MWCO. The addition of TG to the glycerine–water solutions caused a significantly higher relative flux reduction (RFR) than TG–FA mixtures, and this was probably due to the formation of macromolecules on the membrane surface. The RFR was also dependent on the MWCO and solution chemistry. Adsorption behaviour onto membrane surfaces was analysed by contact-angle and Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) measurements, as well as by Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) images. Overall, the results revealed that PES membrane exhibited severe fouling and much larger water RFR than PVDF due to its hydrophobicity and surface roughness.
