title: The filtration and fouling performance of membranes with different pore sizes in algae harvesting.
abstract: In this study, ultrafiltration membranes with three different pore sizes were applied for algae harvesting to investigate filtration performance. The critical fluxes (JC) increased as the pore size increased, and the JCof 0.03-, 0.05- and 0.1-μm membranes were 20.0, 25.0 and 42.0Lm-2h-1, respectively. During continuous filtration, 0.7JCwas selected as the operation flux and the 0.1-μm membrane had the highest initial flux and final flux. It also had the highest flux decline rate, and therefore, the 0.1-μm membrane was more appropriate for algae separation compared to the 0.03- and 0.05-μm membrane. The mechanism by which pore size influenced filtration performance and membrane fouling was presented from the viewpoint of permeate drag force (FD). A lower FDretarded the velocity of algae cells towards the membrane, which could decelerate the deposition of particles on the membrane and thus reduce the membrane fouling rate. As the pore size increased, the membrane hydraulic resistance (Rm) decreased, which led to a decrease of FD.
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resource Reuse, Tongji University, Shanghai 200092, China.
authors.forename: Fangchao
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resource Reuse, Tongji University, Shanghai 200092, China.
authors.forename: Huaqiang
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Chu
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resource Reuse, Tongji University, Shanghai 200092, China.
authors.forename: Zhenjiang
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resource Reuse, Tongji University, Shanghai 200092, China.
authors.forename: Shuhong
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Jiang
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resource Reuse, Tongji University, Shanghai 200092, China.
authors.forename: Xinhua
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resource Reuse, Tongji University, Shanghai 200092, China.
authors.forename: Xuefei
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resource Reuse, Tongji University, Shanghai 200092, China. Electronic address: zhangyalei@tongji.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Yalei
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhang
keywords: Algae harvesting; Filtration; Membrane fouling; Permeate drag force; Pore size