Membrane filtration is effective at separating pathogens from water, but is prone to fouling by organic compounds. This presentation focuses on the development of a novel reactive electrochemical membrane (REM), to help mitigate membrane fouling. The REM consists of a Ti4O7 electrode that oxidizes organic foulants via either direct electron transfer at the REM surface or hydroxyl radical production from water oxidation. In order to develop an understanding of how the REM can limit membrane fouling, organic compounds (i.e., NDMA, humic and tannic acid) with varying chemical properties (e.g., hydrophobicity, acidity, functional groups) were tested under applied current densities of 1-10 mA/cm2. It was found that electrochemical oxidation of organics could help to limit membrane fouling, and the hydrophobicity of the compound determined the primary mechanism for compound removal.

Reactive electrochemical membrane: Organic fouling

243rd National Meeting (2012)

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.