Abstract

This work investigates the enhancement of antifouling properties of ceramic nanofiltration membranes by surface modification via atomic layer deposition (ALD) of TiO₂. Feed solutions containing bovine serum albumin (BSA), humic acid (HA) and sodium alginate (SA) were used as model foulants. The classic fouling mechanism models and the modified fouling indices (MFI) were deduced from the flux decline profiles. Surface roughness values of the ALD coated and uncoated membranes were 63 and 71 nm, respectively, while the contact angles were 34.2 and 59.5°, respectively. Thus, coating increased the water affinity of the membrane surfaces and consequently improved the anti-fouling properties. The MFI values and the classic fouling mechanism correlation coefficients for cake filtration for the ALD coated and the uncoated membrane upon SA fouling were 42,963 (R² = 0.82) and 143,365 sL⁻² (R² = 0.98), respectively, whereas the correlation coefficients for the combined foulants (SA + BSA + HA) were 267,185 (R² = 0.99) and 9569 sL⁻² (R² = 0.37), respectively. The study showed that ALD can effectively enhance the antifouling properties of ceramic membranes.

摘要

这项工作研究了通过TiO ₂的原子层沉积 (ALD) 进行表面改性来增强陶瓷纳滤膜的防污性能. 含有牛血清白蛋白 (BSA)、腐殖酸 (HA) 和海藻酸钠 (SA) 的进料溶液用作模型污垢。经典的污垢机理模型和修正的污垢指数（MFI）是从通量下降曲线推导出来的。ALD 涂层和未涂层​​膜的表面粗糙度值分别为 63 和 71 nm，而接触角分别为 34.2 和 59.5°。因此，涂层增加了膜表面的亲水性，从而提高了防污性能。在 SA 污染时，ALD 涂层和未涂层​​膜的滤饼过滤的 MFI 值和经典污染机制相关系数分别为 42,963 ( R ² = 0.82) 和 143,365 sL ^-2 ( R ²= 0.98)，而组合污垢 (SA + BSA + HA) 的相关系数分别为 267,185 ( R ² = 0.99) 和 9569 sL ^-2 ( R ² = 0.37)。研究表明，ALD可以有效提高陶瓷膜的防污性能。