Beyond Decontamination: Organic Fouling Management of Janus Electroreactive Membrane for Sustainable Water Reclamation

Electroreactive membranes (ERMs) by applying an external electric field hold promise for addressing the pressing needs of membrane process sustainability in water reclamation. Although typical single-surface ERMs induce an intense electric field at the exterior of the membrane surface, the electric field strength attenuates toward the interior of the membrane body. In this study, we embedded an electric field between the two membrane surfaces, i.e., the membrane internal body realm, through the deployment of a Janus ERM. For the first time, we assessed the Janus ERM for fouling management beyond micropollutant removal. By harnessing an internal potential between two membrane electrode surfaces, the Janus ERM removed over 80% of antibiotics under the coexistence of obstinate bovine serum albumin (BSA). Compared with traditional nonelectrified filtration and electrofiltration with single-surface ERM, electrofiltration with the Janus ERM significantly alleviated BSA fouling and halved the flux decline tendency, exhibiting a distinct fouling mitigation phenomenon on its surface. The overall electric energy consumption of the Janus ERM for fouling control and antibiotic removal was lower than that of a single-surface ERM. Hermia fouling model analysis and microscopic characterization collectively demonstrated that the implementation of the internal electric field in the Janus ERM is particularly potent for preventing pore blocking and cake layer formation─the two keys to membrane longevity in conventional scenes. Given the comprehensive attributes of the Janus ERM, we finally discussed the opportunities and challenges for Janus ERMs to be deployed for distributed, fit-for-purpose, and resilient treatment systems.