Biogenic silver nanoparticles (bio-Ag0) decrease biofouling of bio-Ag0/PES nanocomposite membranes. Manying Zhang. Water Research
Biofouling is a major problem for the application of membrane technology in water and wastewater treatment. Advanced anti-biofouling membrane material is one of the practical strategies to reduce biofouling. The nanocomposite Polyethersulfone (PES) membranes were modified with different amounts of biogenic silver nanoparticles (bio-Ag0) by the phase inversion method. The effects of bio-Ag0 content on the membrane structure and filtration performance were systematically investigated. The results demonstrated that silver-containing nanostructures were uniformly distributed on membrane surface. Bio-Ag0 incorporation slightly increased the hydrophilicity of the PES membrane and increased the permeate flux. The anti-bacterial and anti-biofouling performance of the bio-Ag0/PES nanocomposites membrane were carried out with pure cultures (Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa) and a mixed culture (an activated sludge bioreactor) respectively. The bio-Ag0/PES composite membranes, even with the lowest content of biogenic silver (140 mg bio-Ag0 m-2), not only exhibited excellent anti-bacterial activity, but also prevented bacterial attachment to the membrane surface and decreased the biofilm formation during a 9 weeks test.
