Fouling and its control in membrane distillation—A review

• Published in: Journal of membrane science Vol. 475; pp. 215 - 244
• Main Authors: Tijing, Leonard D., Woo, Yun Chul, Choi, June-Seok, Lee, Sangho, Kim, Seung-Hyun, Shon, Ho Kyong
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: 01.02.2015
• Subjects: artificial membranes; Calcium carbonate; desalination; Distillation; Fouling; hounds; Liquids; Membranes; Polypropylenes; Polytetrafluoroethylenes; renewable energy sources; Transmission electron microscopy; viability; wastewater treatment
• ISSN: 0376-7388
• DOI: 10.1016/j.memsci.2014.09.042

Membrane distillation (MD) is an emerging thermally-driven technology that poses a lot of promise in desalination, and water and wastewater treatment. Developments in membrane design and the use of alternative energy sources have provided much improvement in the viability of MD for different applications. However, fouling of membranes is still one of the major issues that hounds the long-term stability performance of MD. Membrane fouling is the accumulation of unwanted materials on the surface or inside the pores of a membrane that results to a detrimental effect on the overall performance of MD. If not addressed appropriately, it could lead to membrane damage, early membrane replacement or even shutdown of operation. Similar with other membrane separation processes, fouling of MD is still an unresolved problem. Due to differences in membrane structure and design, and operational conditions, the fouling formation mechanism in MD may be different from those of pressure-driven membrane processes. In order to properly address the problem of fouling, there is a need to understand the fouling formation and mechanism happening specifically for MD. This review details the different foulants and fouling mechanisms in the MD process, their possible mitigation and control techniques, and characterization strategies that can be of help in understanding and minimizing the fouling problem. Abbreviations * AFM, atomic force microscopy * APS, Accelerated precipitation softening * AGMD, air gap membrane distillation * BSA, bovine serum albumin * CA, contact angle * CaCl sub(2), calcium chloride * CaCO sub(3), calcium carbonate * CaSO sub(4), calcium sulfate * CFU, colony forming unit * CLSM, confocal laser scanning microscopy * COD, chemical oxygen demand * DCMD, direct contact membrane distillation * DLVO, Derjaguin-Landau-Verwey-Overbeek * EDS, energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy * EPS, extracellular polymeric substances * FeCl sub(3), ferric chloride * FlFFF, flow field-flow fractionation * FTIR, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy * HA, humic acid * HCl, hydrochloric acid * HPSEC, high pressure size exclusion chromatography * LC-OCD, liquid chromatography-organic carbon detection * LEP, liquid entry pressure * LGMD, liquid gap membrane distillation * LSI, Langelier saturation index * MB, methylene blue * MD, membrane distillation * MDBR, membrane distillation bioreactor * MEF, multi-effect distillation * MEMD, multi-effect membrane distillation * MF, microfiltration * MGMD, material gap membrane distillation * MMBF, macromolecular or biofouling * MSF, multistage flash * MWT, magnetic water treatment * NaCl, sodium chloride * NaOH, sodium hydroxide * Na sub(2)SO sub(4), sodium sulfate * NF, nanofiltration * NOM, natural organic matters * OMW, olive mill wastewater * PACl, poly-aluminum chloride * PAM, polypropylene acid ammonium * PP, polypropylene * PSD, pore size distribution * PTFE, polytetrafluoroethylene * PVDF, polyvinylidene fluoride * RCW, recirculating cooling water * RO, reverse osmosis * SEM, scanning electron microscopy * SGMD, sweeping gas membrane distillation * SI, saturation index * TCM, traditional Chinese medicine * TDS, total dissolved solids * TEM, transmission electron microscopy * TOC, total organic carbon * TPC, temperature polarization coefficient * UF, ultrafiltration * UTDR, ultrasonic time-domain reflectometry * VMD, vacuum membrane distillation * V-MEMD, vacuum multi-effect membrane distillation * XRD, X-ray diffraction