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. 2018 Feb 5;18(5):272-280.
doi: 10.1002/elsc.201700070. eCollection 2018 May.

Rhamnolipid as new bio-agent for cleaning of ultrafiltration membrane fouled by whey

Mehdi Aghajani  1 , Ahmad Rahimpour  1 , Hossein Amani  1 , Mohammad J Taherzadeh  2
Affiliations

Rhamnolipid as new bio-agent for cleaning of ultrafiltration membrane fouled by whey

Mehdi Aghajani et al. Eng Life Sci. .

Abstract

In this work, rhamnolipid biosurfactant as an eco-friendly and biodegradable cleaning agent was produced by Pseudomonas aeruginosa bacteria and was used to evaluate the chemical cleaning efficiency of whey fouled ultrafiltration membranes. Thin layer chromatography (TLC) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) confirmed the successful synthesis of rhamnolipid. The produced rhamnolipid was compared to chemical cleaners including sodium hydroxide (NaOH), sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) and Tween 20. Ultrafiltration membranes used for fouling and cleaning analysis were prepared using phase inversion via immersion precipitation technique. For studying the fouling mechanisms, Hermia's model adapted to cross-flow was used. From the fouling mechanism experiments, it was found that the complete blocking and cake formation were the dominant fouling mechanisms. The highest values of cleaning efficiency were achieved using rhamnolipid and NaOH as cleaning agents with the flux recovery of 100%, but with considering the low concentration of the rhamnolipid used in the cleaning solution compared to NaOH (0.3 versus 4 g/L for NaOH), its application is preferred.

Keywords: Fouling mechanism; Membrane cleaning; Rhamnolipid biosurfactant; Ultrafiltration; Whey.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Schematic diagrams showing the types of fouling mechanisms: (A) complete blocking, (B) standard blocking (C) intermediate blocking and (D) cake formation.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Flux behavior of membrane to investigate the fouling mechanism (experimental conditions: CVD = 2 m/s, T = 25°C, the experiments were conducted in triplicates with ±3% error).
Figure 3
Figure 3
Different fouling mechanisms (A) Complete blocking (B) Standard blocking (C) intermediate blocking (D) Cake formation.
Figure 4
Figure 4
(A) The TLC analysis and (B) FTIR spectra of the purified biosurfactant produced.
Figure 5
Figure 5
(A) The pH influence of rhamnolipid cleaning solution on the cleaning efficiency, (B) the effect of pH on aggregate rhamnolipid monomers, (C) the influence of rhamnolipid cleaning solution concentrations on the cleaning efficiency (the experiments were conducted in triplicates with ±3% error).
Figure 6
Figure 6
The comparison of cleaning efficiency for different cleaning agents (the experiments were conducted in triplicates with ±3% error).
Figure 7
Figure 7
Surface and cross sectional FE‐SEM images of (A) fouled and (B) cleaned membrane; (C) pristine membrane.
Figure 8
Figure 8
Mechanism of membrane cleaning by rhamnolipid (A) before and (B) after protein denaturation.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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