膜科学与技术

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Monitoring and Research on the formation and evolution of membrane
fouling by ultrasonic time domain reflectance technique

Authors： WANG Jianyu, WANG Zixu, CUI Zhenyu

Units： 1. School of Science, Kaili University, Kaili 556011, China; 2.School of Material Science and Engineering, Tiangong University, Tianjin 300387， China

KeyWords： ultrafiltration; ultrasonic monitoring; fouling layer; microstructure; operating parameters

ClassificationCode：TQ028.8

year,volume(issue):pagination： 2025,45(5):100-111

Abstract：

Polyvinylidene fluoride/styrene-maleic anhydride (PVDF/SMA) flat membrane was modified with polyethyleneimine (PEI) and ε-polylysine (ε-PL) to prepare a modified membrane with high anti fouling effect on humic acid (HA). The membrane fouling and cleaning process were monitored in real time and non destructively by ultrasonic time domain reflectance technique (UTDR) to explore the formation and evolution of the fouling layer on the membrane surface and the transformation from reversible pollution to irreversible pollution. The results showed that the thickness and density of the fouling layer on the membrane surface calculated by UTDR were in good agreement with the observed results, which verified the effectiveness of UTDR in characterizing the microstructure parameters such as the thickness and density of the filter cake layer and the correctness of the active anti fouling mechanism of “adsorption flocculation loose filter cake layer protection” proposed in the previous research. In addition, by studying the evolution law of the cake layer on the membrane surface, the optimal operation parameters were obtained, which could effectively reduce the formation of irreversible pollution when the filtration time was less than 2 h and the cleaning time was 30 min. This study provides a reference for UTDR to study the microstructure of membrane fouling layer and optimize the operation parameters of membrane process.

Funds：

凯里学院校级科研项目（2025ZD007）; 国家自然科学基金面上项目（22178267）

AuthorIntro：

王建宇(1974-)，男，贵州望谟人，博士，主要从事膜材料与膜应用研究

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