Disentangling membrane wetting, compaction, and fouling during ultra-low-pressure liquid filtration using a phase-inverted PVDF membrane
English
Abstract
This study disentangles membrane wetting, compaction, and fouling during ultra-low-pressure filtration using phase-inverted polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) membranes. Pressure-stepping tests (0.04-0.11 bar) and repeated one-hour filtration cycles at 0.07 bar, each followed by 10 min of relaxation, were performed with clean water and river water to separate the hydraulic contributions of the three phenomena. With clean water, permeability increased most strongly in the 4-7 kPa range and then approached a plateau, indicating progressive pore wetting. During repeated clean-water filtration, permeability declined because of compaction but recovered from 337.72 to 372.10 L m-2 h-1 bar-1 after the first relaxation, confirming that part of the compaction was reversible. River water showed consistently lower permeability and only partial recovery (217.40 to 299.30 L m-2 h-1 bar-1 after the first relaxation), demonstrating the superimposed effect of fouling. The results show that wetting dominates the initial pressure response, compaction governs time-dependent permeability loss under clean water, and fouling becomes decisive in natural water filtration. This mechanistic separation provides a practical basis for pressure optimization, relaxation scheduling, and fouling control in ultra-low-pressure membrane processes.
References
Bilad, M. R., Junaeda, S. R., Khery, Y., Nufida, B. A., Shamsuddin, N., Usman, A., & Violet, V., 2022. "Compaction of a polymeric membrane in ultra-low-pressure water filtration." Polymers, 14(16), 3254. https://doi.org/10.3390/polym14163254
Bu, F., Gao, B., Yue, Q., Liu, C., Wang, W., & Shen, X., 2019. "The combination of coagulation and adsorption for controlling ultra-filtration membrane fouling in water treatment". Water, 11(1), 90. https://doi.org/10.3390/w11010090
Cogan, N. G., Li, J., Badireddy, A. R., & Chellam, S., 2016. "Optimal backwashing in dead-end bacterial microfiltration with irreversible attachment mediated by extracellular polymeric substances production". J. Memb. Sci., 520, 337–344. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.memsci.2016.08.001
Fan, H., Xiao, K., Mu, S., Zhou, Y., Ma, J., Wang, X., & Huang, X., 2018. "Impact of membrane pore morphology on multi-cycle fouling and cleaning of hydrophobic and hydrophilic membranes during MBR operation." J. Memb. Sci., 556, 312–320. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.memsci.2018.04.014
Filloux, E., Teychene, B., Tazi-Pain, A., & Croue, J. P., 2014. "Ultrafiltration of biologically treated domestic wastewater: How membrane properties influence performance". Sep. Pur. Tech., 134, 178–186. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.seppur.2014.07.043
Hube, S., Eskafi, M., Hrafnkelsdóttir, K. F., Bjarnadóttir, B., Bjarnadóttir, M. Á., Axelsdóttir, S., & Wu, B., 2020. "Direct membrane filtration for wastewater treatment and resource recovery: A review". Sci. Total. Env., 710, 136375. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.136375
Hung, T. S., Bilad, M. R., Shamsuddin, N., Suhaimi, H., Ismail, N. M., Jaafar, J., & Ismail, A. F., 2022. "Confounding effect of wetting, compaction, and fouling in an ultra-low-pressure membrane filtration: A review." Polymers, 14(10), 2073. https://doi.org/10.3390/polym14102073
Kallioinen, M., Pekkarinen, M., Mänttäri, M., Nuortila-Jokinen, J., & Nyström, M., 2007. "Comparison of the performance of two different regenerated cellulose ultrafiltration membranes at high filtration pressure". J. Memb. Sci., 294(1–2), 93–102. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.memsci.2007.02.016
Khery, Y., Daniar, S. E., Mat Nawi, N. I., Bilad, M. R., Wibisono, Y., Nufida, B. A., Ahmadi, A., Jaafar, J., Huda, N., & Kobun, R., 2022. "Ultra-low-pressure membrane filtration for simultaneous recovery of detergent and water from laundry wastewater." Membranes, 12(6), 591. https://doi.org/10.3390/membranes12060591
Kim, T. H., Jee, K. Y., & Lee, Y. T., 2015. "The improvement of water flux and mechanical strength of PVDF hollow fiber membranes by stretching and annealing conditions." Macromol. Res., 23(7), 592–600. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13233-015-3087-0
Kochan, J., Wintgens, T., Hochstrat, R., & Melin, T., 2009. "Impact of wetting agents on the filtration performance of polymeric ultrafiltration membranes." Desalination, 241(1–3), 34–42. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.desal.2008.01.056
Lan, Y., Barthe, L., Azais, A., & Causserand, C., 2020. "Feasibility of a heterogeneous Fenton membrane reactor containing a Fe-ZSM5 catalyst for pharmaceuticals degradation: Membrane fouling control and long-term stability." Sep. Pur. Tech., 231, 115920. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.seppur.2019.115920
Lee, E. K., Chen, V., & Fane, A. G. 2008. "Natural organic matter (NOM) fouling in low pressure membrane filtration—Effect of membranes and operation modes." Desalination, 218(1–3), 257–270. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.desal.2007.02.021
Mecha, A. C., Chollom, M. N., Babatunde, B. F., Tetteh, E. K., & Rathilal, S., 2023. "Versatile silver-nanoparticle-impregnated membranes for water treatment: A review." Membranes, 13(4), 432. https://doi.org/10.3390/membranes13040432
Mulyati, S., Rosnelly, C. M., Syamsuddin, Y., Arahman, N., Muchtar, S., Wahyuni, W., Lauzia, T., Ambarita, A. C., Bilad, M. R., & Samsuri, S., 2023. "Enhancing the anti-fouling property of polyethersulfone-based membrane using chitosan additive from golden snail (Pomacea canaliculata) shell waste for water purification." ASEAN J. Chem. Eng., 23(2), 224-239. https://doi.org/10.22146/ajche.79643
Rahmawati, R., Bilad, M. R., Nawi, N. I. M., Wibisono, Y., Suhaimi, H., Shamsuddin, N., & Arahman, N., 2021. "Engineered spacers for fouling mitigation in pressure driven membrane processes: Progress and projection." J. Env. Chem. Eng., 9(5), 106285. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jece.2021.106285
Sadr, S. M. K., & Saroj, D. P., 2015. "Membrane technologies for municipal wastewater treatment". In Adv. Memb. Tech. Water. Treat., 443–463. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-1-78242-121-4.00014-9
Stade, S., Kallioinen, M., Mikkola, A., Tuuva, T., & Mänttäri, M., 2013. "Reversible and irreversible compaction of ultrafiltration membranes." Sep. Pur. Tech., 118, 127–134. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.seppur.2013.06.039
Tian, J., Wu, C., Yu, H., Gao, S., Li, G., Cui, F., & Qu, F., 2018. "Applying ultraviolet/persulfate (UV/PS) pre-oxidation for controlling ultrafiltration membrane fouling by natural organic matter (NOM) in surface water." Water Res., 132, 190–199. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.watres.2018.01.005
Wan Osman, W. N. A., Mat Nawi, N. I., Samsuri, S., Bilad, M. R., Khan, A. L., Hunaepi, H., Jaafar, J., & Lam, M. K., 2021. "Ultra low-pressure filtration system for energy efficient microalgae filtration." Heliyon, 7(6), e07367. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2021.e07367
Xu, Q., Yang, Y., Wang, X., Wang, Z., Jin, W., Huang, J., & Wang, Y., 2012. "Atomic layer deposition of alumina on porous polytetrafluoroethylene membranes for enhanced hydrophilicity and separation performances." J. Memb. Sci., 415–416, 435–443. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.memsci.2012.05.031
Yang, F., Huang, Z., Huang, J., Wu, C., Zhou, R., & Jin, Y., 2021. "Tanning wastewater treatment by ultrafiltration: Process efficiency and fouling behavior." Membr., 11(7), 461. https://doi.org/10.3390/membranes11070461
Zaouk, L., Massé, A., Bourseau, P., Taha, S., Rabiller-Baudry, M., Jubeau, S., Teychené, B., Pruvost, J., & Jaouen, P., 2020. "Filterability of exopolysaccharides solutions from the red microalga Porphyridium cruentum by tangential filtration on a polymeric membrane." Env. Tech., 41(9), 1167–1184. https://doi.org/10.1080/09593330.2018.1523234
Zhou, X., Sun, Y., Shen, S., Li, Y., & Bai, R., 2021. "Highly effective anti-organic fouling performance of a modified PVDF membrane using a triple-component copolymer of P(Stx-co-MAAy)-g-fPEGz as the additive". Membranes, 11(12), 951. https://doi.org/10.3390/membranes11120951
Copyright (c) 2026 ASEAN Journal of Chemical Engineering
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
Copyright holder for articles is ASEAN Journal of Chemical Engineering. Articles published in ASEAN J. Chem. Eng. are distributed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0) license.
Authors agree to transfer all copyright rights in and to the above work to the ASEAN Journal of Chemical Engineering Editorial Board so that the Editorial Board shall have the right to publish the work for non-profit use in any media or form. In return, authors retain: (1) all proprietary rights other than copyright; (2) re-use of all or part of the above paper in their other work; (3) right to reproduce or authorize others to reproduce the above paper for authors’ personal use or for company use if the source and the journal copyright notice is indicated, and if the reproduction is not made for the purpose of sale.
