Details of Research Outputs

The development of biofouling mitigation and cleaning strategy is of paramount importance for ultrafiltration (UF) membrane biofouling. In this study, polyethersulfone (PES) UF membrane was functionalized, namely MoS/PES composite membrane. The MoS/PES composite membrane exhibited superior antifouling property as evidenced by antibacterial circle, static and dynamic biofouling experiments. The permeate fluxes of the pristine PES and MoS/PES composite membrane respectively decreased by 76% and 31% at the end of 3-h filtration. After exposure of E. coli to MoS, inhibited cell growth led to reduced membrane biofouling. The biofilm formation was retarded under the dynamic flow condition, which were further confirmed by Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and Confocal Laser Scanning Microscopy (CLSM) observations. As for the enhanced biofouling removal by cleaning with HO, 62% of the flux recovery rate for the MoS/PES composite membrane was much higher than the pristine PES membrane (24%). The peroxidase-like properties of MoS were responsible for the enhancement of the superior cleaning performance. The use of HO to trigger the in-situ catalytic function of the MoS nano-enzyme generated more ROS and O for inducing bacterial cells death and facilitating detachment of biofilm. This work will be helpful to provide important insights into developing more effective strategies for biofouling control and cleaning using advanced nanomaterials in membrane-based water treatment processes.