Membrane fouling characterization by confocal scanning laser microscopy

Identifier:  TDX:362

Handle: https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11797/TDX362

Authors:  Zator, Maria Malgorzata

Abstract:
In fields such as the food and dairy industries, biotechnology, and the treatment of industrial effluents, pressure-driven membrane processes such as microfiltration are increasingly being used for the separation, purification and clarification of protein-containing solutions. A major limitation to the widespread use of membrane filtration, however, is fouling. Fouling is usually attributed to pore constriction, pore blocking or the deposition of cells and cell debris on the membrane surface and can lead to a reduction in the filtrate flux of more than an order of magnitude. Progress in developing a means for characterizing, controlling and preventing membrane fouling has been impeded by lack of suitable non-invasive fouling-measurement techniques. The main aim of this study is to develop suitable strategies for applying Confocal Scanning Laser Microscopy (CSLM) to characterise membrane fouling caused by biological macromolecules. Microfiltration experiments of single, binary and ternary model solutions of proteins, polysaccharides and polyphenols were carried out and CSLM images of the membranes at the end of the different filtration runs were obtained, in order to obtain quantitative and qualitative information about fouling patterns. Some trials of on-line monitoring of cross-flow microfiltration processes were also carried out.