Inhibition of biofouling on reverse osmosis membrane surfaces by germicidal ultraviolet light side-emitting optical fibers

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dc.citation.articleNumber119094en_US
dc.citation.journalTitleWater Researchen_US
dc.citation.volumeNumber224en_US
dc.contributor.authorRho, Hojungen_US
dc.contributor.authorYu, Pingfengen_US
dc.contributor.authorZhao, Zheen_US
dc.contributor.authorLee, Chung-Seopen_US
dc.contributor.authorChon, Kangminen_US
dc.contributor.authorPerreault, Françoisen_US
dc.contributor.authorAlvarez, Pedro J.J.en_US
dc.contributor.authorAmy, Garyen_US
dc.contributor.authorWesterhoff, Paulen_US
dc.contributor.orgNanosystems Engineering Research Center for Nanotechnology-Enabled Water Treatmenten_US
dc.date.accessioned2022-09-29T15:06:21Zen_US
dc.date.available2022-09-29T15:06:21Zen_US
dc.date.issued2022en_US
dc.description.abstractBiofouling of membrane surfaces poses significant operational challenges and costs for desalination and wastewater reuse applications. Ultraviolet (UV) light can control biofilms while reducing chemical usage and disinfection by-products, but light deliveries to membrane surfaces in spiral wound geometries has been a daunting challenge. Thin and flexible nano-enabled side-emitting optical fibers (SEOFs) are novel light delivery devices that enable disinfection or photocatalytic oxidation by radiating UV light from light-emitting diodes (LEDs). We envision SEOFs as an active membrane spacer to mitigate biofilm formation on reverse osmosis (RO) membranes. A lab-scale RO membrane apparatus equipped with SEOFs allowed comparison of UV-A (photocatalysis-enabled) versus UV-C (direct photolysis disinfection). Compared against systems without any light exposure, systems with UV-C light formed thinner—but denser—biofilms, prevented permeate flux declines due to biofouling, and maintained the highest salt rejection. Results were corroborated by in-situ optical coherence tomography and ex-situ measurements of biofilm growth on the membranes. Transcriptomic analysis showed that UV-C SEOFs down-regulated quorum sensing and surface attachment genes. In contrast, UV-A SEOFs upregulated quorum sensing, surface attachment, and oxidative stress genes, resulting in higher extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) accumulation on membrane surfaces. Overall, SEOFs that deliver a low fluence of UV-C light onto membrane surfaces are a promising non-chemical approach for mitigating biofouling formation on RO membranes.en_US
dc.identifier.citationRho, Hojung, Yu, Pingfeng, Zhao, Zhe, et al.. "Inhibition of biofouling on reverse osmosis membrane surfaces by germicidal ultraviolet light side-emitting optical fibers." <i>Water Research,</i> 224, (2022) Elsevier: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.watres.2022.119094.en_US
dc.identifier.digital1-s2-0-S0043135422010405-mainen_US
dc.identifier.doihttps://doi.org/10.1016/j.watres.2022.119094en_US
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/1911/113419en_US
dc.language.isoengen_US
dc.publisherElsevieren_US
dc.rightsThis is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).en_US
dc.rights.urihttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).en_US
dc.titleInhibition of biofouling on reverse osmosis membrane surfaces by germicidal ultraviolet light side-emitting optical fibersen_US
dc.typeJournal articleen_US
dc.type.dcmiTexten_US
dc.type.publicationpublisher versionen_US
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