Interaction between humic acid and silica in reverse osmosis membrane fouling process: A spectroscopic and molecular dynamics insight

Li, Danyang; Lin, Weichen; Shao, Rui-peng; Shen, Yue; Zhu, Xianzheng; Huang, Xia

doi:10.1016/j.watres.2021.117773

Cited by 59 publications

(29 citation statements)

References 55 publications

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“…Figure 8 shows the magnified view of agglomerated and precipitated humic acid on the colloidal layer. Similar evidence of agglomeration and the deposition of humic acid, obtained by a transmission electron microscope, was given by Li et al [ 25 ]. Also, similar observations were reported by Qin et al [ 13 ].…”

Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 85%

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New Insights into the Fouling of a Membrane during the Ultrafiltration of Complex Organic–Inorganic Feed Water

et al. 2023

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This paper presents an analysis of the fouling of a ceramic membrane by a mixture containing high concentrations of humic acid and colloidal silica during cross-flow ultrafiltration under various operating conditions. Two types of feed water were tested: feed water containing humic acid and feed water containing a mixture of humic acid and colloidal silica. The colloidal silica exacerbated the fouling, yielding lower fluxes (109–394 L m−2 h−1) compared to the humic acid feed water (205–850 L m−2 h−1), while the retentions were higher except for the highest cross-flow rate. For the humic acid feed water, the irreversible resistance prevails under the cross-flow rate of 5 L min−1. During the filtration of an organic–inorganic mixture, the reversible resistance due to the formation of a colloidal cake layer prevails under all operating conditions with an exception. The exception is the filtration of the organic–inorganic mixture of a 50 mg L−1 humic acid concentration which resulted in a lower flux than the one of a 150 mg L−1 humic acid concentration under 150 kPa and a cross-flow rate of 5 L min−1. Here, the irreversible fouling is unexpectedly overcome. This is unusual and occurs due to the low agglomeration at low concentrations of humic acid under a high cross-flow rate. Under lower transmembrane pressure and a moderate cross-flow rate, fouling can be mitigated, and relatively high fluxes are yielded with high retentions even in the presence of nanoparticles. In this way, colloidal silica influences the minimization of membrane fouling by organic humic acid contributing to the control of in-pore organic fouling.

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Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 85%

“…Several researchers discussed the tendencies of HA and colloidal SiO 2 to compress [ 4 , 22 , 23 , 25 ]. Humic acid has a low compressibility and causes internal pore fouling, while colloidal silica is highly compressible and forms a dynamic surface layer.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

New Insights into the Fouling of a Membrane during the Ultrafiltration of Complex Organic–Inorganic Feed Water

et al. 2023

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“…The XPS spectra of fouled membranes indicated that the typical membrane fouling occurring on the UF membrane surface can be ascribed to Na 2 SiF 6 and silica (Figure S4b–d). − Figure S5a–c shows that the dominant fouling behaviors could be predicted by an intermediate blocking model due to the n values being close to 1. The membrane fouling processes for different Na 2 SO 4 content treatments could be divided into the initial intermediate blocking, transition fouling, and cake filtration (Figure S5d–f).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 92%

Recovery of Fluoride-Rich and Silica-Rich Wastewaters as Valuable Resources: A Resource Capture Ultrafiltration–Bipolar Membrane Electrodialysis-Based Closed-Loop Process

Qiu

Ren

Xia

et al. 2022

Environ. Sci. Technol.

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Traditional technologies such as precipitation and coagulation have been adopted for fluoride-rich and silica-rich wastewater treatment, respectively, but waste solid generation and low wastewater processing efficiency are still the looming concern. Efficient resource recovery technologies for different wastewater treatments are scarce for environment and industry sustainability. Herein, a resource capture ultrafiltration–bipolar membrane electrodialysis (RCUF-BMED) system was designed into a closed-loop process for simultaneous capture and recovery of fluoride and silica as sodium silicofluoride (Na2SiF6) from mixed fluoride-rich and silica-rich wastewaters, as well as achieving zero liquid discharge. This RCUF-BMED system comprised two key parts: (1) capture of fluoride and silica from two wastewaters using acid, and recovery of the Na2SiF6 using base by UF and (2) UF permeate conversion for acid/base and freshwater generation by BMED. With the optimized RCUF-BMED system, fluoride and silica can be selectively captured from wastewater with removal efficiencies higher than 99%. The Na2SiF6 recovery was around 72% with a high purity of 99.1%. The aging and cyclic experiments demonstrated the high stability and recyclability of the RCUF-BMED system. This RCUF-BMED system has successfully achieved the conversion of toxic fluoride and silica into valuable Na2SiF6 from mixed wastewaters, which shows great application potential in the industry–resource–environment nexus.

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“…In contrast, the adsorption sites of HA were saturated when the concentration of silica reached 6 mM. Consequently, self-aggregation of silica and the formation of silica-HA aggregates with larger sizes occurred, thereby facilitating the decrease of water flux …”

Section: Presence Of Organic Foulants Alters the Behaviors Of Mineral...mentioning

confidence: 97%

“…(F) Silica scaling in RO with the presence of humic acid. The figures are adapted with permission from ref (A, copyright 2016 Elsevier), ref (B, copyright 2014 Elsevier), ref (C, copyright 2021 Elsevier), ref (D, copyright 2018 American Chemical Society), ref (E, copyright 2020 Elsevier), and ref (F, copyright 2021 Elsevier). The data are extracted from those figures and replotted.…”

Section: Presence Of Organic Foulants Alters the Behaviors Of Mineral...mentioning

confidence: 99%

A Tale of Two Foulants: The Coupling of Organic Fouling and Mineral Scaling in Membrane Desalination

Tong

Liu

et al. 2023

Environ. Sci. Technol.

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Membrane desalination that enables the harvesting of purified water from unconventional sources such as seawater, brackish groundwater, and wastewater has become indispensable to ensure sustainable freshwater supply in the context of a changing climate. However, the efficiency of membrane desalination is greatly constrained by organic fouling and mineral scaling. Although extensive studies have focused on understanding membrane fouling or scaling separately, organic foulants commonly coexist with inorganic scalants in the feedwaters of membrane desalination. Compared to individual fouling or scaling, combined fouling and scaling often exhibits different behaviors and is governed by foulant−scalant interactions, resembling more complex but practical scenarios than using feedwaters containing only organic foulants or inorganic scalants. In this critical review, we first summarize the performance of membrane desalination under combined fouling and scaling, involving mineral scales formed via both crystallization and polymerization. We then provide the state-of-the-art knowledge and characterization techniques pertaining to the molecular interactions between organic foulants and inorganic scalants, which alter the kinetics and thermodynamics of mineral nucleation as well as the deposition of mineral scales onto membrane surfaces. We further review the current efforts of mitigating combined fouling and scaling via membrane materials development and pretreatment. Finally, we provide prospects for future research needs that guide the design of more effective control strategies for combined fouling and scaling to improve the efficiency and resilience of membrane desalination for the treatment of feedwaters with complex compositions.

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Interaction between humic acid and silica in reverse osmosis membrane fouling process: A spectroscopic and molecular dynamics insight

Cited by 59 publications

References 55 publications

New Insights into the Fouling of a Membrane during the Ultrafiltration of Complex Organic–Inorganic Feed Water

New Insights into the Fouling of a Membrane during the Ultrafiltration of Complex Organic–Inorganic Feed Water

Recovery of Fluoride-Rich and Silica-Rich Wastewaters as Valuable Resources: A Resource Capture Ultrafiltration–Bipolar Membrane Electrodialysis-Based Closed-Loop Process

A Tale of Two Foulants: The Coupling of Organic Fouling and Mineral Scaling in Membrane Desalination

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