Direct visual observation of yeast deposition and removal during microfiltration

Periodic reverse flow through membranes is an effective technique to remove foulants from microfiltration (MF) membrane surfaces. This work explored direct visual observation (DVO) of yeast deposition and subsequent removal via backwashing and single backpulses using microvideo photography with cellulose-acetate (CA) and Anopore anodised-alumina (AN) MF membranes. Foulant deposited less uniformly on the surfaces of the CA membranes than on the AN membrane surfaces during forward filtration. Foulant cake layers of approximately 30 μm thickness formed on both membranes after forward filtration for 1–2 h, leading to fouled-membrane fluxes of only 15–25% of the clean-membrane fluxes.Foulant was removed by reverse flow from the CA membrane surfaces in clumps. The time constant for foulant removal was determined from photomicrographs to be approximately 0.2 s, and 95% of the membrane surface was cleaned within 1 s of backpulsing, resulting in 95% recovery of the initial flux. The foulant cake was also removed from the AN membranes in clumps, though much of the membrane remained covered in a monolayer of yeast. The flux through the membrane covered with a full monolayer was determined during forward filtration to be about 70% of the clean membrane flux.A model for flux recovery is proposed which takes into account the fraction of the membrane surface which is completely cleaned as well as the fraction which remains covered in a foulant monolayer. The predicted and experimentally-determined recovered fluxes as a function of backpulse duration are in very good agreement.