Effect of localized hydrodynamics on biofilm attachment and growth in a cross-flow filtration channel
Name:
Effect of_1-s2.0-S004313542031037X-main.pdf
Size:
1.356Mb
Format:
PDF
Description:
Accepted manuscript
Embargo End Date:
2022-10-07
Type
ArticleKAUST Department
Water Desalination and Reuse Research Center (WDRC)Biological and Environmental Sciences and Engineering (BESE) Division
Environmental Science and Engineering Program
Date
2020-10-07Embargo End Date
2022-10-07Submitted Date
2020-07-05Permanent link to this record
http://hdl.handle.net/10754/665490
Metadata
Show full item recordAbstract
Biofilm attachment and growth in membrane filtration systems are considerably influenced by the localized flow inside the feed channel. The present work aims to map the biofilm attachment/growth mechanism under varying flow conditions. Effect of varying clearance region (space between the spacer filament and membrane surface) on biofouling pattern is investigated by using three 3D-printed pillar spacers having different filament diameters of 340, 500, and 1000 µm while maintaining the same pillar orientation, diameter and height. Direct Numerical Simulations (DNS) and Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) were carried out to accurately predict the local hydrodynamics behavior and in-situ monitor the biofilm formation. On spacer filaments, biofouling attachment is primarily observed in the regions where low and non-fluctuating shear stresses are present. Conversely, on membrane surface, highest biofouling attachment was observed under spacer filaments where high shear stresses are prevalent along with low clearance height. Furthermore, as filtration time progresses, the biofilm grows faster on the membrane in the center of spacer cells where low shear stress with steady hydrodynamics conditions are prevalent. The proposed hydrodynamics approach envisages a full spectrum of spacer design constraints that can lead to intrinsic biofilm mitigation while improving filtration performance of membranes based water treatment.Citation
Kerdi, S., Qamar, A., Vrouwenvelder, J. S., & Ghaffour, N. (2020). Effect of localized hydrodynamics on biofilm attachment and growth in a cross-flow filtration channel. Water Research, 116502. doi:10.1016/j.watres.2020.116502Sponsors
The research reported in this paper was supported by King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Saudi Arabia. The authors acknowledge help, assistance and support from the Water Desalination and Reuse Center (WDRC) staff and KAUST Supercomputing Laboratory (KSL).Publisher
Elsevier BVJournal
Water ResearchAdditional Links
https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S004313542031037Xae974a485f413a2113503eed53cd6c53
10.1016/j.watres.2020.116502