A kinetic model for calculating total membrane fouling resistance in chemical cleaning process

In this study, a kinetic model was developed based on Hom-Haas model to describe the total membrane fouling resistance (Rtf (t)) during the chemical cleaning process of 0.1 μm PAN microfiltration (MF) membrane fouled with activated sludge suspension from submerged membrane bioreactors (SBR). The quantitative effects of different chemical cleaning conditions (temperature, TMP and stirring speed) on model parameters were determined. Results showed that the cleaning efficiency of NaOCl was superior compared to SDS and NaOH. Furthermore, the chemical cleaning activation energy and the surface free energy between the foulants and the membrane for NaOCl cleaning process was maximum. Meanwhile, the model played an excellent agreement (R2 > 0.90) with NaOCl/NaOH/SDS cleaning process under different conditions for 0.1 μm PAN membrane fouled with activated sludge suspension. Moreover, the model was also possessed higher accuracy with other suspension (yeast suspension) and membrane (0.1 μm PVDF).