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    Development of anti-biofouling feed spacers to improve performance of reverse osmosis modules

    Year: 2018

    Journal: Water Res., Volume 145, NOV 15, page 599–607

    Authors: Rice, Douglas; Barrios, Ana C.; Xiao, Zhiwei; Bogler, Anne; Bar-Zeev, Edo; Perreault, Francois

    Organizations: NSF Nanosystems Engineering Research Center for Nanotechnology-Enabled Water Treatment [ERC-1449500]

    Keywords: Spacers; Desalination; Biofouling; Reverse osmosis; Nanomaterials

    This study investigates the biofouling resistance of modified reverse osmosis (RO) feed spacers. Control spacers (made of polypropylene) were functionalized with a biocidal coating (silver), hydrophilic (SiO2 nanoparticles) or superhydrophobic (TMPSi-TiO2 nanoparticles) anti-adhesive coatings, or a hybrid hydrophilic-biocidal coating (graphene oxide). Performance was measured by adhesion assays, viability tests, and permeate flow decline in a bench scale RO system. The control spacers proved to be one of the better performing materials based on bacterial deposition and dynamic RO fouling experiments. The good anti-adhesive properties of the control can be explained by its near ideal surface free energy (SFE). The only surface modification that significantly reduced biofouling compared to the control was the biocidal silver coating, which outperformed the other spacers by all measured indicators. Therefore, future efforts to improve spacer materials for biofouling control should focus on engineering biocidal coatings, rather than anti-adhesive ones. (C) 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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