title: Microfluidic colloid filtration.
abstract: Filtration of natural and colloidal matter is an essential process in today's water treatment processes. The colloidal matter is retained with the help of micro- and nanoporous synthetic membranes. Colloids are retained in a "cake layer"--often coined fouling layer. Membrane fouling is the most substantial problem in membrane filtration: colloidal and natural matter build-up leads to an increasing resistance and thus decreasing water transport rate through the membrane. Theoretical models exist to describe macroscopically the hydrodynamic resistance of such transport and rejection phenomena; however, visualization of the various phenomena occurring during colloid retention is extremely demanding. Here we present a microfluidics based methodology to follow filter cake build up as well as transport phenomena occuring inside of the fouling layer. The microfluidic colloidal filtration methodology enables the study of complex colloidal jamming, crystallization and melting processes as well as translocation at the single particle level.
authors.affiliation: RWTH Aachen University, AVT.CVT-Chemical Process Engineering, Aachen, 52056, Germany.
authors.forename: John
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Linkhorst
authors.affiliation: RWTH Aachen University, AVT.CVT-Chemical Process Engineering, Aachen, 52056, Germany.
authors.forename: Torsten
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Beckmann
authors.affiliation: DWI-Leibniz Institute for Interactive Materials, Aachen, 52056, Germany.
authors.forename: Dennis
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Go
authors.affiliation: DWI-Leibniz Institute for Interactive Materials, Aachen, 52056, Germany.
authors.forename: Alexander J C
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Kuehne
authors.affiliation: RWTH Aachen University, AVT.CVT-Chemical Process Engineering, Aachen, 52056, Germany.|DWI-Leibniz Institute for Interactive Materials, Aachen, 52056, Germany.
authors.forename: Matthias
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Wessling