Feasibility of supercritical CO2 treatment for controlling biofouling in the reverse osmosis process |
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Authors: | Sungmin Mun Youngbin Baek Cholin Kim Youn-Woo Lee |
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Institution: | 1. World Class University (WCU) Program of Chemical Convergence for Energy &2. Environment (C2E2), School of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Institute of Chemical Processes(ICP), Seoul National University , Daehak-dong, Gwanak-gu, Seoul , 151-742 , Republic of Korea;3. School of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Seoul National University , Daehak-dong, Gwanak-gu, Seoul , 151-742 , Republic of Korea |
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Abstract: | Physical cleaning and/or chemical cleaning have been generally used to control biofouling in the reverse osmosis (RO) process. However, conventional membrane cleaning methods to control biofouling are limited due to the generation of by-products and the potential for damage to the RO membranes. In this study, supercritical carbon dioxide (SC CO2) treatment, an environmentally friendly technique, was introduced to control biofouling in the RO process. SC CO2 (100 bar at 35°C) treatment was performed after biofouling was induced on a commercial RO membrane using Pseudomonas aeruginosa PA01 GFP as a model bacterial strain. P. aeruginosa PA01 GFP biofilm cells were reduced on the RO membrane by >8 log within 30 min, and the permeate flux was sufficiently recovered in a laboratory-scale RO membrane system without any significant damage to the RO membrane. These results suggest that SC CO2 treatment is a promising alternative membrane cleaning technique for biofouling in the RO process. |
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Keywords: | supercritical CO2 membrane cleaning biofouling reverse osmosis (RO) membrane Pseudomonas aeruginosa PA01 GFP |
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