Ultrasonic monitoring of early­stage biofilm growth on polymeric surfaces

Biofouling potential of industrial fermentation broth components during microfiltration

“…The total reflected power (TRP) from each acoustic observation was determined by integrating the amplitude of the reflected sound waves. TRP distributions were compiled and normalized by their TRP observations corresponding to the initial phase when the membranes were in a clean but otherwise identical operating condition [19].…”

“…Such intensity levels are not expected to either result in mechanical damage or heating of the biopolymers accumulating in or on separation membranes [19].…”

“…UR shows promise in distinguishing among different fouling modes, including internal pore-blockage and surface-cake buildup. Recent reports have described the ability of UR to monitor the development of fouling layers on flat sheet surfaces [16][17][18][19] and hollow-fiber membranes [20] used for drinking water treatment. Ultrasonic time-domain reflectometry (UTDR) has been employed to monitor particle deposition and cake formation in situ, to determine the thickness of cake "layers" formed during cross-flow microfiltration of papermill effluent with nylon membranes [21], as well as monitor ultrafiltration of papermill effluent using polysulfone membranes [22].…”

Detection methods of fouling in heat exchangers in the food industry

“…Also, electrical, optical, and acoustical methods are included (Withers, 1996). But, fouling can also occur in other places like membranes where different methods are applicable like confocal laser scanning (Ferrando, Rozek, Zator, López, & Güell, 2005), fluid dynamic gauging (Chew, Paterson, & Wilson, 2004, or ultrasonic techniques (Kujundzic, Cobry, Greenberg, & Hernandez, 2008;Kujundzic et al, 2007).…”

Evolution of composite fouling on a vertical stainless steel surface caused by treated sewage

“…associated with fluorescence microscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) or confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM). The ESEM has been used to directly observe the biofouling and polysaccharide fouling of membranes [16,17].…”