Effects of lonic Strength and Membrane Charge on Natural Organic Matter (NOM) Removal Efficiency and Membrane Fouling by Flow Field Flow Fractionation (Fl-FFF)

Abstract

Organic fouling is one of the major obstacles in membrane filtration process for water treatment and water reuse facilities. Flow field flow fractionation (fl-FFF) is an size analysing equipment of various solutes such as colloid, polymer, bacteria and so on. In this study, we were demonstrated the effect of membrane charge and ionic strength of carrier solution on membrane filtration by using fl-FFF. Ionic strength had an effect on both the structure of poly styrene solfonate (PSS) or NOM and membrane matrix so that different retention peaks were observed. The charge of membrane significantly affected NOM and PSS separation and retention times of NOM and PSS. Charged membrane always showed the shorter retention time and larger peak than uncharged membrane