Control of Biofilm Formation and Inorganic Particle Accumulation on Reverse Osmosis Membrane by Hypochlorite Washing

Authors: Masaki Ohno, Cervinia Manalo, Tetsuji Okuda, Satoshi Nakai, Wataru Nishijima

Abstract:

Reverse osmosis (RO) membranes have been widely used for desalination to purify water for drinking and other purposes. Although at present most RO membranes have no resistance to chlorine, chlorine-resistant membranes are being developed. Therefore, direct chlorine treatment or chlorine washing will be an option in preventing biofouling on chlorine-resistant membranes. Furthermore, if particle accumulation control is possible by using chlorine washing, expensive pretreatment for particle removal can be removed or simplified. The objective of this study was to determine the effective hypochlorite washing condition required for controlling biofilm formation and inorganic particle accumulation on RO membrane in a continuous flow channel with RO membrane and spacer. In this study, direct chlorine washing was done by soaking fouled RO membranes in hypochlorite solution and fluorescence intensity was used to quantify biofilm on the membrane surface. After 48 h of soaking the membranes in high fouling potential waters, the fluorescence intensity decreased to 0 from 470 using the following washing conditions: 10 mg/L chlorine concentration, 2 times/d washing interval, and 30 min washing time. The chlorine concentration required to control biofilm formation decreased as the chlorine concentration (0.5–10 mg/L), the washing interval (1–4 times/d), or the washing time (1–30 min) increased. For the sample solutions used in the study, 10 mg/L chlorine concentration with 2 times/d interval, and 5 min washing time was required for biofilm control. The optimum chlorine washing conditions obtained from soaking experiments proved to be applicable also in controlling biofilm formation in continuous flow experiments. Moreover, chlorine washing employed in controlling biofilm with suspended particles resulted in lower amounts of organic (0.03 mg/cm²) and inorganic (0.14 mg/cm²) deposits on the membrane than that for sample water without chlorine washing (0.14 mg/cm² and 0.33 mg/cm², respectively). The amount of biofilm formed was 79% controlled by continuous washing with 10 mg/L of free chlorine concentration, and the inorganic accumulation amount decreased by 58% to levels similar to that of pure water with kaolin (0.17 mg/cm²) as feed water. These results confirmed the acceleration of particle accumulation due to biofilm formation, and that the inhibition of biofilm growth can almost completely reduce further particle accumulation. In addition, effective hypochlorite washing condition which can control both biofilm formation and particle accumulation could be achieved.

Keywords: Biofouling control, hypochlorite, reverse osmosis, washing condition optimization.

Digital Object Identifier (DOI): doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.1125425

References:

[1] N. Ghaffour, T. M. Missimer, G. L. Amy, “Technical review and evaluation of the economics of water desalination: Current and future challenges for better supply sustainability,” Desalination, vol. 309, pp. 197–207, Jan. 2013.
[2] N. Misdan, W. J. Lau, A. F. Ismail, “Seawater Reverse Osmosis (SWRO) desalination by thin-film composite membrane - Current development, challenges and future prospects,” Desalination, vol. 287, pp. 228–237, Feb. 2012.
[3] 2030 Water Resources Group, Charting Our Water Future - Economic frameworks to inform decision-making, 2009.
[4] B. Peñate, L. Garcia-Rodriguez, “Current trends and future prospects in the design of seawater reverse osmosis desalination technology,” Desalination, vol. 284, pp. 1–8, Jan. 2012.
[5] K. P. Lee, T. C. Arnot, D. Mattia, “A review of reverse osmosis membrane materials for desalination—Development to date and future potential,” J. Membr. Sci., vol. 370, no. 1–2, pp. 1–22, Mar. 2011.
[6] Global Water Intelligence (GWI/IDA DesalData), Market profile and desalination markets, 2009–2012 yearbooks and GWI website, http://www.desaldata.com/.
[7] Q. Li, Z. Xu, I. Pinnau, “Fouling of reverse osmosis membranes by biopolymers in wastewater secondary effluent: Role of membrane surface properties and initial permeate flux,” J. Membr. Sci., vol. 290, no. 1–2, pp. 173–181, Mar. 2007.
[8] J. A. López-Ramírez, S. Sahuquillo, D. Sales, J. M. Quiroga, “Pre-treatment optimisation studies for secondary effluent reclamation with reverse osmosis,” Water Res., vol. 37, no. 5, pp. 1177–1184, Mar. 2003.
[9] P. Glueckstern, M. Priel, E. Gelman, N. Perlov, “Wastewater desalination in Israel,” Desalination, vol. 222, no. 1–3, pp. 151–164, Mar. 2008.
[10] H.-C. Flemming, “Reverse osmosis membrane biofouling,” Exp. Therm. Fluid Sci., vol. 14, no. 4, pp. 382–391, May. 1997.
[11] R. P. Schneider, L. M. Ferreira, P. Binder, E. M. Bejarano, K. P. Góes, E. Slongo, C. R. Machado, G. M. Z. Rosa, “Dynamics of organic carbon and of bacterial populations in a conventional pretreatment train of a reverse osmosis unit experiencing severe biofouling,” J. Membr. Sci., vol. 266, no. 1–2, pp. 18–29, Dec. 2005.
[12] J. Mansouri, S. Harrisson, V. Chen, “Strategies for controlling biofouling in membrane filtration systems: challenges and opportunities,” J. Mater. Chem., vol. 20, pp. 4567–4586, Apr. 2010.
[13] S. R. Suwarno, X. Chen, T. H. Chong, D. McDougald, Y. Cohen, S. A. Rice, A. G. Fane, “Biofouling in reverse osmosis processes: The roles of flux, crossflow velocity and concentration polarization in biofilm development,” J. Membr. Sci., vol. 467, pp. 116–125, Oct. 2014.
[14] A. Matin, Z. Khan, S. M. J. Zaidi, M. C. Boyce, “Biofouling in reverse osmosis membranes for seawater desalination: phenomena and prevention,” Desalination, vol. 281, pp. 1–16, Oct. 2011.
[15] J. Schwinge, P. R. Neal, D. E. Wiley, D. F. Fletcher, A. G. Fane, “Spiral wound modules and spacers Review and analysis,” J. Membr. Sci., vol. 242, no. 1–2, pp. 129–153, Oct. 2004.
[16] P. R. Neal, H. Li, A. G. Fane, D. E. Wiley, “The effect of filament orientation on critical flux and particle deposition in spacer-filled channels,” J. Membr. Sci., vol. 214, no. 1, pp. 165–178, Mar. 2003.
[17] I. S. Ngene, R. G. H. Lammertink, M. Wessling, W. G. J. Van der Meer, “Particle deposition and biofilm formation on microstructured membranes,” J. Membr. Sci., vol. 364, no. 1–2, pp. 43–51, Nov. 2010.
[18] T. F. Speth, A. M. Gusses, S. Summers, “Evaluation of nanofiltration pretreatments for flux loss control,” Desalination, vol. 130, no. 1, pp. 31-44, Sep. 2000.
[19] A. Antony, R. Fudianto, S. Cox, G. Leslie, “Assessing the oxidative degradation of polyamide reverse osmosis membrane—Accelerated ageing with hypochlorite exposure,” J. Membr. Sci., vol. 347, no. 1–2, pp. 159–164, Feb. 2010.
[20] J. Xu, Z. Wang, L. Yu, J. Wang, S. Wang, “A novel reverse osmosis membrane with regenarble anti-biofouling and chlorine resistant properties,” J. Membr. Sci., vol. 435, pp. 80–91, May. 2013.
[21] J. Glater, S.-k. Hong, M. Elimelech, “The search for a chlorine-resistant reverse osmosis membrane,” Desalination, vol. 95, no. 3, pp. 325–345, Jul. 1994.
[22] Y.-N. Kwon, J. O. Leckie, “Hypochlorite degradation of crosslinked polyamide membranes: II. Changes in hydrogen bonding behavior and performance,” J. Membr. Sci., vol. 282, no. 1–2, pp. 456–464, Oct. 2006.
[23] G.-D. Kang, C.-J. Gao, W.-D. Chen, X.-M. Jie, Y.-M. Cao, Q. Yuan, “Study on hypochlorite degradation of aromatic polyamide reverse osmosis membrane,” J. Membr Sci., vol. 300, no. 1–2, pp. 165–171, Aug. 2007.
[24] T. Shintani, H. Matsuyama, N. Kurata, “Development of a chlorine-resistant polyamide reverse osmosis membrane,” Desalination, vol. 207, no. 1–3, pp. 340–348, Mar. 2007.
[25] V. T. Do, C. Y. Tang, M. Reinhard, J. O. Leckie, “Degradation of polyamide nanofiltration and reverse osmosis membranes by hypochlorite,” Environ. Sci. Technol., vol. 46, no. 2, pp. 852–859, Jan. 2012.
[26] H. M. Colquhoun, D. Chappell, A. L. Lewis, D. F. Lewis, G. T. Finlan, P. J. Williams, “Chlorine tolerant, multilayer reverse-osmosis membranes with high permeate flux and high salt rejection,” J. Mater. Chem., vol. 20, pp. 4629–4634, Apr. 2010.
[27] C. Fritzmann, J. Löwenberg, T.Wintgens, T. Melin, “State-of-the-art of reverse osmosis desalination,” Desalination, vol. 216, no. 1–3, pp. 1–76, Oct. 2007.
[28] D. Kim, S. Jung, J. Sohn, H. Kim, S. Lee, “Biocide application for controlling biofouling of SWRO membranes — an overview,” Desalination, vol. 238, no. 1–3, pp. 43–52, Mar. 2009.
[29] N. Fujiwara, H. Matsuyama, “Elimination of biological fouling in seawater reverse osmosis desalination plants,” Desalination, vol. 227, no. 1–3, pp. 295–305, Jul. 2008.
[30] E. Dionisio-Ruiz, J. Pérez, F. Plaza, G. Garralón, A. Garralón, M. A. Gómez, “Biofilm evolution in the pretreatment line of a reverse osmosis system,” Desalination, vol. 338, pp. 33–38, 2014.
[31] J. Xu, G. Ruan, L. Zou, C. Gao, “Effect of chlorine and acid injection on hollow fiber RO for SWRO,” Desalination, vol. 262, no. 1–3, pp. 115–120, Nov. 2010.
[32] J. Yu, Y. Baek, H. Yoon, J. Yoon, “New disinfectant to control biofouling of polyamide reverse osmosis membrane,” J. Membr. Sci., vol. 427, pp. 30–36, Jan. 2013.
[33] P. R. Buch, D. Jagan Mohan, A. V. R. Reddy, “Preparation, characterization and chlorine stability of aromatic–cycloaliphatic polyamide thin film composite membranes,” J. Membr. Sci., vol. 309, no. 1–2, pp. 36–44, Feb. 2008.
[34] Y.-H. La, R. Sooriyakumaran, D. C. Miller, M. Fujiwara, Y. Terui, K. Yamanaka, B. D. McCloskey, B. D. Freeman, R. D. Allen, “Novel thin film composite membrane containing ionizable hydrophobes: pH-dependent reverse osmosis behavior and improved chlorine resistance,” J. Mater. Chem., vol. 20, pp. 4615–4620, Apr. 2010.
[35] S. Yu, M. Liu, Z. Lü, Y. Zhou, C. Gao, “Aromatic-cycloaliphatic polyamide thin- film composite membrane with improved chlorine resistance prepared from m-phenylenediamine-4-methyl and cyclohexane-1,3,5-tricarbonyl chloride,” J. Membr. Sci., vol. 344, no. 1–2, pp. 155–164, Nov. 2009.
[36] Y.-N. Kwon, S. Hong, H. Choi, T. Tak, “Surface modification of a polyamide reverse osmosis membrane for chlorine resistance improvement,” J. Membr. Sci., vol. 415-416, pp. 192–198, Oct. 2012.
[37] D. H. Shin, N. Kim, Y. T. Lee, “Modification to the polyamide TFC RO membranes for improvement of chlorine-resistance,” J. Membr. Sci., vol. 376, no. 1–2, pp. 302–311, Jul. 2011.
[38] H. Vlamakis, C. Yunrong, P. Beauregard, R. Losick, R. Kolter, “Sticking together: building a biofilm the Bacillus subtilis way.” Nat. Rev. Microbiol., vol. 11, no. 3, pp. 157–168, Mar. 2013.
[39] H. F. Ridgway, A. Kelly, C. Justice, B. H. Olson, “Microbial fouling of reverse osmosis membranes used in advanced wastewater treatment technology: chemical, bacteriological, and ultrastructural analyses.” Appl. Environ. Microbiol, vol. 45, no. 3, pp. 1066–1084, Mar. 1983.
[40] J. Lee, X. Ren, H.-W. Yu, S.-J. Kim, I. S. Kim, “Membrane Biofouling of Seawater Reverse Osmosis Initiated by Sporogenic Bacillus Strain.” Environmental Engineering Research, vol. 15, no. 3, pp. 141–147, Sep. 2010.
[41] D. Saeki, S. Nagao, I. Sawada, Y. Ohmukai, T. Maruyama, H. Matsuyama, “Development of antibacterial polyamide reverse osmosis membrane modified with a covalently immobilized enzyme.” J. Membr. Sci., vol. 428, no. 1–2, pp. 403–409, Feb. 2013.
[42] J. A. Redondo, I. Lomax, “Y2K generation FILMTEC * RO membranes combined with new pretreatment techniques to treat raw water with high fouling potential: summary of experience,” Desalination, vol. 136, no. 1–3, pp. 287–306, May. 2001.
[43] M. Sajjad, M. G. Rasul, “Simulation and Optimization of Solar Desalination Plant Using Aspen Plus Simulation Software,” Procedia Engineering, vol. 105, pp. 739–750, 2015.
[44] A. Bódalo-Santoyo, J. L. Gómez-Carrasco, E. Gómez-Gómez, M. F. Máximo-Martin, A. M. Hidalgo-Montesinos, “Spiral-wound membrane reverse osmosis and the treatment of industrial effluents,” Desalination, vol. 160, no. 2, pp. 151–158, Jan. 2004.
[45] R. Baker, Membrane Technology and Applications. NJ: J. Wiley, 2004.
[46] S. S. Madaeni, S. Samieirad, “Chemical cleaning of reverse osmosis membrane fouled by wastewater,” Desalination, vol. 257, no. 1–3, pp. 80–86, Jul. 2010.
[47] H. Shemer, R. Semiat, “Impact of halogen based disinfectants in seawater on polyamide RO membranes,” Desalination, vol. 273, no. 1, pp. 179–183, Jun. 2011.