title: Identifying polyvinylidene fluoride ultrafiltration membrane fouling behavior of different effluent organic matter fractions using colloidal probes.
abstract: The interaction forces between effluent organic matter (EfOM) fractions and membrane were measured by atomic force microscopy in conjunction with self-made membrane material colloidal probes. The inter-EfOM-fraction and intra-EfOM-fraction interactions were investigated using corresponding EfOM-fraction-coated colloidal probe. We combined this analysis with corresponding fouling experiments to identify the EfOM fractions responsible for polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) ultrafiltration membrane fouling. Results show that hydrophilic and hydrophobic fractions were the dominant fractions responsible for membrane fouling and flux decline in the initial and later filtration stages, respectively, which was mainly attributed to the stronger PVDF-hydrophilic fraction and intra-hydrophobic-fraction interaction forces. This phenomenon, in conjunction with the fact that each interaction force of PVDF-EfOM fraction was stronger than corresponding intra-EfOM-fraction force, suggests that the elimination of the PVDF-hydrophilic fraction interaction force is the best strategy for controlling EfOM fouling. Moreover, the inter-EfOM-fraction interaction force was mainly controlled by the corresponding intra-EfOM-fraction interaction forces. And, while the membrane-EfOM fraction and intra-EfOM-fraction interactions for each type of EfOM fraction are equivalent, the EfOM fractions with the molecular weight smaller than the molecular weight cutoff of the membranes used were mainly responsible for membrane fouling rather than the relatively high-molecular-weight fractions.
authors.affiliation: School of Environmental & Municipal Engineering, Xi'an University of Architecture and Technology, Yan Ta Road, No. 13, Xi'an 710055, China.
authors.forename: Rui
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Miao
authors.affiliation: School of Environmental & Municipal Engineering, Xi'an University of Architecture and Technology, Yan Ta Road, No. 13, Xi'an 710055, China. Electronic address: wl0178@126.com.
authors.forename: Lei
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: School of Environmental & Municipal Engineering, Xi'an University of Architecture and Technology, Yan Ta Road, No. 13, Xi'an 710055, China.
authors.forename: Yongtao
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Lv
authors.affiliation: School of Environmental & Municipal Engineering, Xi'an University of Architecture and Technology, Yan Ta Road, No. 13, Xi'an 710055, China.
authors.forename: Xudong
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: School of Environmental & Municipal Engineering, Xi'an University of Architecture and Technology, Yan Ta Road, No. 13, Xi'an 710055, China.
authors.forename: Ling
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Feng
authors.affiliation: School of Environmental & Municipal Engineering, Xi'an University of Architecture and Technology, Yan Ta Road, No. 13, Xi'an 710055, China.
authors.forename: Ziwen
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: School of Environmental & Municipal Engineering, Xi'an University of Architecture and Technology, Yan Ta Road, No. 13, Xi'an 710055, China.
authors.forename: Danxi
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.affiliation: School of Environmental & Municipal Engineering, Xi'an University of Architecture and Technology, Yan Ta Road, No. 13, Xi'an 710055, China.
authors.forename: Yongzhe
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Yang
mesh_terms: D008567:Membranes, Artificial; D009930:Organic Chemicals / Q000302:isolation & purification; D011145:Polyvinyls / Q000737:chemistry*; D014462:Ultrafiltration / Q000592:standards*; D018508:Water Purification / Q000379:methods*; D005465:Fluorocarbon Polymers
chemical_list: D008567:Membranes, Artificial; D009930:Organic Chemicals; D011145:Polyvinyls; C024865:polyvinylidene fluoride; D005465:Fluorocarbon Polymers
keywords: Atomic force microscopy; Colloidal probes; Effluent organic matter; Interaction forces; Membrane fouling