Dramatic improvement of membrane performance for microalgae harvesting with a simple bubble-generator plate

作者：Hwang Taewoon; Oh You Kwan; Kim Bohwa; Han Jong In

来源：Bioresource Technology, 2015, 186: 343-347.

DOI：10.1016/j.biortech.2015.03.111

• Microalgae harvesting
• Membrane filtration
• Computational fluid dynamics
• Asymmetric structure
• Bubble-generator plate

To overcome fouling issue in membrane-based algae harvesting and thus make an otherwise promising harvesting option more competitive, a bubble-generator plate was developed. According to computational fluid dynamics analysis, the plate generated substantial hydrodynamic power in terms of high pressure, velocity, and shear stress. When installed in a membrane filtration system with membranes of different surface and structural characteristics (one prepared by the phase inversion method, and a commercial one) the bubble-generator was indeed effective in reducing fouling. Without the plate, the much cheaper homemade membrane had the similar performance as the commercial one. Use of the bubble-generator considerably improved the performance of both membranes, and revealed a valuable synergy with the asymmetrical structure of the homemade membrane. This result clearly showed that the ever-problematic fouling could be mitigated in a rather easy manner, and in so doing, that membrane technology could indeed become a practical option for algae harvesting.

• 出版日期2015-6