Micro- and ultrafiltration membranes for wastewater treatment and microalgae filtration: influence of membrane properties and operational condition on membrane fouling

My research focuses on development of micro- and ultrafiltration membrane processes for wastewater filtration (i.e. activated sludge in aerobic membrane bioreactor (MBR)) and microalgae broth filtration. Optimization of these membrane processes is mainly to reduce fouling phenomena which manifest in a lower permeate membrane flux. Three main factors are exploited for the aforementioned aim, i.e. (1) membrane development, (2) feed, and (3) operational parameters. First, membrane development (synthesis and modification) is carried out mainly based on polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) and polyacrylonitrile (PAN). Additionally, commercial membranes from Amer-sil, Polyvinyl chloride (PVC)/silica mixed matrix membranes is also used for the studies. Second, different feed is used for filtration, i.e. activated sludge and different species of microalgae. Furthermore, modification study of the feed (in microalgae) is performed by coagulation. Third, variation on filtration operational parameter is investigated, mainly on flux, vibration, chemical cleaning and also filtration cycle time. Moreover, a study to combine membrane processes in MBR and microalgae membrane photobioreactor (MPBR) is performed to treat wastewater.