Organic Fouling of Graphene Oxide Membranes and Its Implications for Membrane Fouling Control in Engineered Osmosis

This study provides experimental evidence to mechanistically understand some contradicting effects of the characteristic properties of graphene oxide (GO), such as the high hydrophilicity, negative charge, strong adsorption capability, and large surface area, on the antifouling properties of GO membranes. Furthermore, this study demonstrates the effectiveness of forming a dense GO barrier layer on the back (i.e., porous) side of an asymmetric membrane for fouling control in pressure-retarded osmosis (PRO), an emerging engineered osmosis process whose advancement has been much hindered due to the severe irreversible fouling that occurs as foulants accumulate inside the porous membrane support. In the membrane fouling experiments, protein and alginate were used as model organic foulants. When operated in forward osmosis mode, the GO membrane exhibited fouling performance comparable with that of a polyamide (PA) membrane. Analysis of the membrane adsorption capacity showed that, likely due to the presence of...