Surfactant pretreatment of a polysulfone ultrafilter for reduction of antifoam fouling

Abstract

Effectiveness of surfactant precoat treatment of the polysulfone ultrafilter was first investigated for reduction of membrane fouling in ultrafiltration of antifoam. Fifteen different surfactants, including alcohols and synthetic nonionic surfactants, were tested. In general, pretreatment with nonionic surfactant gave a larger flux than that with alcohol did. The flux increase by pretreatment with nonionic surfactant depended on a hydrophile lipophile balance (HLB) value and type of hydrophobic tail. The most effective surfactant for reducing antifoam fouling among the 15 surfactants was Brij-58 which has an HLB value of 16 and a straight alkyl hydrophobic chain. The ultrafiltration flux of the membrane treated with Brij-58 was almost three times larger than that of untreated membrane. The precoat treatment with Brij-58 was the most effective for reducing antifoam fouling in terms of rejection properties.Furthermore, flux was also improved by the surfactant pretreatment in ultrafiltration of model process streams, such as fermentation media, broth, and yeast suspension with or without antifoam. The surfactant Brij-58 was found to be more effective for reducing membrane fouling in ultrafiltration of model stream YG compared with ethanol or Brij-35. The mean flux increase by the pretreatment with Brij-58 was about 80% in ultrafiltration of the model stream without antifoam. When antifoam was added to the model stream, flux was almost doubled by the pretreatment with Brij-58. The effectiveness of surfactant precoat treatment for reducing membrane fouling was also confirmed in terms of rejection properties. (c) 1994 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Quantitative structure–activity relationship (QSAR) analysis of surfactants influencing attachment of a Mycobacterium sp. to cellulose acetate and aromatic polyamide reverse osmosis membranes

“…Pretreatment of the CA and PA membranes for 1 h with surfactants prior to cell addition frequently resulted in stimulation of bacterial attachment, suggesting modification of the membrane surfaces by certain surfactants. Similar surface modification of polysulfone ultrafiltration membranes was reported by Yamagiwa et al (1994). A group of three selected surfactants that stimulated attachment in the membrane pretreatment assay resulted in inhibition of mycobacteria attachment in the cell pretreatment assay in the CA membrane system, suggesting the cell surface is a primary target for detergent activity.…”

Novel Biohybrid Polysulfone Membranes with Physically Immobilized Gramicidin for Ion-Exchange Applications

“…According to morphology analysis performed by ESEM (section ), immobilization of TRX/gA does not affect membrane porosity. It has been reported that exposure to the surfactant enhances wetting properties of polymeric membranes and can enhance water uptake properties, − which is observed also in the present case.…”

“…The influence of Triton X100 (TRX) on the water flux properties of the polymeric membranes has been previously reported, and it was found that treatment with a surfactant significantly enhances water passage through the polymeric membranes. − Because the water flux is expected to increase after treatment with Triton solution, overall ion passage is going to increase as well. Because TRX treatment and TRX/gA micelle immobilization imply interaction of the membrane surface with the surfactant, we expect both modifications to improve ion permeability.…”