“…Cleaning with 100 ppm of hypochlorite exhibits permeance recoveries of 90.3, 98.2, and 94.6% for membranes fouled with MB, TA, and BSA, respectively. There is no doubt that the oxidizing capacity of this reagent is the primary factor for the excellent permeance recovery, but the role of the ionic strength of the hypochlorite solution cannot be neglected, as it can result in changed electrostatic interactions at the adsorbed foulant–membrane interface and deliver a positive contribution to the removal of foulants from the membrane surface. , Such effects have been attributed to a variety of reasons including the increase in the hydration repulsion forces between the membrane and foulant molecules, which decreases the adsorption and deposition of foulants on the membrane surface. − Alternatively, the improvement could also be attributed to the breakdown of the organic foulant into smaller byproducts that can be easily removed from the membrane by rinsing or permeating through the GO membrane. , Dyes have been shown to degrade to small chlorinated organic compounds with molar masses as low as 234 g/mol and with a less branched structure compared to the original dye. , Similarly, natural organic matter, such as humic acid, has exhibited ring-opening reactions and degradation to low molecular weight trihalomethanes such as chloroform (MW = 119.4 g/mol) under chlorinating conditions. , Based on the degradation of these organic foulants into smaller byproducts, the observed improvement in permeance following hypochlorite treatment can be attributed to the degradation of the previously adsorbed organic material from within the GO galleries of the membrane.…”