Hollow Fiber Recovery for Sustainable Water Treatment: Optimization, Automation, and Advanced Materials

Membranes are becoming the dominant technology in treating drinking water and wastewater. Membranes can be made in various geometries, but hollow fibers are the preferred form factor; they can be packed more efficiently, reducing the plant size and they are often easier to clean than alternative geometries. Nevertheless, during use, membranes will become fouled, which limits how much water can pass through them as well as potentially impacting the quality of the treated water. As such, membranes need to be cleaned frequently. Membrane cleaning is complicated and time intensive, requiring analysis of what fouled the membranes and a trial-and-error approach to identify which chemicals will be most effective in recovering the membrane’s performance. This research aims to evaluate and clean fouled hollow fiber membranes from drinking water and wastewater treatment plants, develop automated processes for cleaning protocols, and explore the use of new electrified membrane processes to limit fouling.

Faculty Supervisor:

Charles-Francois De Lannoy

Student:

Partner:

Trojan Technologies

Discipline:

Engineering

Sector:

Construction and infrastructure; Manufacturing

University:

McMaster University

Program: