Water Science and Technology 2015-01-01

Inhibition of biofouling by modification of forward osmosis membrane using quaternary ammonium cation.

Kang-Hee Park, Sang-Hyun Yu, Han-Shin Kim, Hee-Deung Park

Index: Water Sci. Technol. 72 , 738-45, (2015)

Full Text: HTML

Abstract

In the operation of the forward osmosis (FO) process, biofouling of the membrane is a potentially serious problem. Development of an FO membrane with antibacterial properties could contribute to a reduction in biofouling. In this study, quaternary ammonium cation (QAC), a widely used biocidal material, was conjugated with a silane coupling agent (3-(trimethoxysilyl)-propyldimethyloctadecyl ammonium chloride) and used to modify an FO membrane to confer antibacterial properties. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) demonstrated that the conjugated QAC was successfully immobilized on the FO membrane via covalent bonding. Bacterial viability on the QAC-modified membrane was confirmed via colony count method and visualized via bacterial viability assay. The QAC membrane decreased the viability of Escherichia coli to 62% and Staphylococcus aureus to 77% versus the control membrane. Inhibition of biofilm formation on the QAC modified membrane was confirmed via anti-biofilm tests using the drip-flow reactor and FO unit, resulting in 64% and 68% inhibition in the QAC-modified membrane against the control membrane, respectively. The results demonstrate the effectiveness of the modified membrane in reducing bacterial viability and inhibiting biofilm formation, indicating the potential of QAC-modified membranes to decrease operation costs incurred by biofouling.

Related Compounds

Structure Name/CAS No. Articles
4',6-Diamidino-2-phenylindole dihydrochloride Structure 4',6-Diamidino-2-phenylindole dihydrochloride
CAS:28718-90-3
Dimethyloctadecyl[3-(trimethoxysilyl)propyl]ammonium chloride Structure Dimethyloctadecyl[3-(trimethoxysilyl)propyl]ammonium chloride
CAS:27668-52-6
dead Structure dead
CAS:1972-28-7