Affiliations 

  • 1 Chemical Engineering Department, UniversitiTeknologi PETRONAS, Bandar Seri Iskandar, 32610 Perak, Malaysia
  • 2 Chemical Engineering Department, UniversitiTeknologi PETRONAS, Bandar Seri Iskandar, 32610 Perak, Malaysia; Jurusan Pendidikan Kimia, Institut Keguruan Ilmu Pendidikan, Jalan Pemuda No 59A, Mataram, Indonesia. Electronic address: mroil.bilad@utp.edu.my
Bioresour Technol, 2017 Oct;241:661-668.
PMID: 28609754 DOI: 10.1016/j.biortech.2017.05.175

Abstract

Microalgae harvesting using membrane technology is challenging because of its high fouling propensity. As an established fouling mitigation technique, efficacy of air bubbles can be improved by maximizing the impact of shear-rates in scouring foulant. In this study, it is achieved by tilting the membrane panel. We investigate the effect of tilting angle, switching period as well as aeration rate during microalgal broth filtration. Results show that higher tilting angles (up to 20°) improve permeability of up to 2.7 times of the vertical panel. In addition, operating a one-sided panel is better than a two-sided panel, in which the later involved switching mode. One-sided membrane panel only require a half of area, yet its performance is comparable with of a large-scale module. This tilted panel can lead to significant membrane cost reductions and eventually improves the competitiveness of membrane technology for microalgae harvesting application.

* Title and MeSH Headings from MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.