Membrane fouling is seen as the main culprit that hinders the widespread of membrane application in liquid-based filtration. Therefore, fouling management is key for the successful implementation of membrane processes, and it is done across all magnitudes. For optimum operation, membrane developments and surface modifications have largely been reported, including membrane surface patterning. Membrane surface patterning involves structural modification of the membrane surface to induce secondary flow due to eddies, which mitigate foulant agglomeration and increase the effective surface area for improved permeance and antifouling properties. This paper reviews surface patterning approaches used for fouling mitigation in water and wastewater treatments. The focus is given on the pattern formation methods and their effect on overall process performances.

The discharge of improperly treated oil/water emulsion by industries imposes detrimental effects on human health and the environment. The membrane process is a promising technology for oil/water emulsion treatment. However, it faces the challenge of being maintaining due to membrane fouling. It occurs as a result of the strong interaction between the hydrophobic oil droplets and the hydrophobic membrane surface. This issue has attracted research interest in developing the membrane material that possesses high hydraulic and fouling resistance performances. This research explores the vapor-induced phase separation (VIPS) method for the fabrication of a hydrophilic polysulfone (PSF) membrane with the presence of polyethylene glycol (PEG) as the additive for the treatment of oil/water emulsion. Results show that the slow nonsolvent intake in VIPS greatly influences the resulting membrane structure that allows the higher retention of the additive within the membrane matrix. By extending the exposure time of the cast film under humid air, both surface chemistry and morphology of the resulting membrane can be enhanced. By extending the exposure time from 0 to 60 s, the water contact angle decreases from 70.28 ± 0.61° to 57.72 ± 0.61°, and the clean water permeability increases from 328.70 ± 8.27 to 501.89 ± 8.92 (L·m⁻²·h⁻¹·bar⁻¹). Moreover, the oil rejection also improves from 85.06 ± 1.6 to 98.48 ± 1.2%. The membrane structure was transformed from a porous top layer with a finger-like macrovoid sub-structure to a relatively thick top layer with a sponge-like macrovoid-free sub-structure. Overall results demonstrate the potential of the VIPS process to enhance both surface chemistry and morphology of the PSF membrane.

Increasing global concern on clean water scarcity and environmental sustainability drive invention in water reclamation technology. Laundry wastewater reclamation via membrane technology faces the challenge of membrane fouling. This paper assesses a tilting-the-filtration-panel filtration system for the treatment of real laundry wastewater filtration aimed for water and detergent reuse. Results showed that the panel tilting significantly improved fouling control and enhanced permeability due to enhanced contact of air bubbles with the membrane surface, which induced continuous detachment of foulant from the membrane surface. The combination of aeration rate and tilting angle resulted in up to 83% permeability enhancement from 109 to 221.4 ± 10.8 (L/m²·h·bar). The system also offers 32% detergent recovery. Overall findings suggest that the system offers an attractive approach for both fouling management and detergent recovery and can potentially be applied under a simple setup in which filtration can be driven by gravity/hydrostatic pressure.

Membrane technology is one of reliable options for treatment of oil/water emulsion. It is highly attractive because of its effectiveness in separating fine oil droplets of 3000 ppm to a point of no flux.

S: Pressure driven membrane filtration has been widely adopted for oil and water recovery from oil/water emulsion. The technology offers numerous economic and environmental advantages. However, specific energy consumption remains a critical factor for its economic assessment. The specific energy consumption depends on several factors, among which is the fouling filtration period/time. Therefore, the fouling filtration time indirectly affects the overall economic viability of the system. Herein, the effect of fouling filtration time on the specific energy consumption during cross-flow filtration of 1000 ppm oil/water emulsion was evaluated. During the first 20 min of oil/water emulsion filtration, the energy consumption was found to be 0.0225 KWh/m³. While the filtration was continued to 90 min, the system requires 0.0301 KWh/m³ energy input. The tradeoff between fouling filtration time and energy consumption was found to be just before 30 mins. Suggesting that at 30 mins fouling filtration time, clean water flushing/backwashing would restore significant hydraulic performance and thus, less increase in energy input would be required. At the tradeoff point 0.0254 KWh/m³ energy was required to drive the filtration. This represents up to ∼19 % energy saving compared to the straight nonstop 90 min fouling filtration time. The overall results demonstrated that fouling filtration time affects the overall economics of cross-flow membrane filtration.

The accumulation of organic pollutants in Indonesian waters is challenging for water treatment. Because high pollutant levels increase the burden on the water technology used. Membrane technology can be used to optimize the filtration of organic pollutants. However, this technique is still...