Fouling characteristics of polyurethane-based hollow fiber membrane in microfiltration process

Abstract Polyurethane-based hollow fiber membrane was prepared by melt-spinning method. The object of this research was to study the fouling mechanism of this kind of membrane in microfiltration. Three materials (CaCO 3 , sodium alginate and humic acid) which could induce typical fouling were used as foulants. Results showed that cake layer formation by CaCO 3 suspension was easier to be removed by backwashing; the difference between fouling mechanism of sodium alginate and humic acid was that the flux lost caused by humic acid was irreversible by backwashing for its hydrophobicity. Based on experimental data, an empirical formula for fouling mechanism was supplemented to improve the fitting result accuracy of the microfiltration processes of polyurethane-based membrane.