Evaluation of membrane performance and fouling by pyrolysis-GC/MS
- Environmental Protection Agency, Cincinnati, OH (United States)
- Univ. of Cincinnati, OH (United States)
The loss of membrane efficiency due to fouling is one of the main impediments to the development of membrane processes for use in drinking water treatment. Membrane fouling is dependent on the water quality and the membrane properties and construction. In general, fouling is defined as the accumulation of material on the surface, or in the pores, of a membrane that decreases the water flux through the membrane. The consequences of fouling can be severe, fouling can reduce the water flux through a membrane up to 90 percent. There are five broad fouling categories: sparingly soluble inorganics, colloidal or particulate matter, dissolved organics, chemical reactants, and microorganisms. Dissolved organics and colloidal matter are considered to be the most serious of the foulants due to the difficulty in removing them with pretreatment processes. Membranes can be fouled either by cake-layer formation or adsorption. Improved nanofiltration performance will lead to an increased use of nanofiltration as a drinking water treatment method. Pyrolysis-gas chromatography/mass spectroscopy (Py-GC/MS) has the ability to elucidate natural organic matter characteristics. Pyrolysis is used to thermally cleave organic molecules into volatile fragments that are then separated by gas chromatography and identified by mass spectroscopy. The objective of this research is to relate the productivity of membrane systems that treat different water`s to natural organic characteristics as determined by Py-GC/MS. Membrane studies will be completed with a cellulose acetate membrane that has a nominal molecular-weight cutoff of 500 Daltons (Amicon YCO5), and a thin-film polyamide membrane (Fluid Systems) that has a nominal molecular-weight cutoff of 200 Daltons.
- OSTI ID:
- 111521
- Report Number(s):
- CONF-9504110-; TRN: 95:005009-0064
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: 21. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) annual Risk Reduction Engineering Laboratory research symposium, Cincinnati, OH (United States), 4-6 Apr 1995; Other Information: PBD: 1995; Related Information: Is Part Of 21st Annual RREL research symposium: Abstract proceedings; PB: 398 p.
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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