Development of Novel Sensor Coating Methodology to Enable Understanding of Fouling Mechanisms on Ion Exchange Membranes

Author

Andrew UlmerFollow

Date of Award

Spring 5-12-2023

Document Type

Undergraduate Thesis

Department

Biomedical Engineering

First Advisor

Alexander Lopez

Second Advisor

Thomas Werfel

Third Advisor

John H. O’Haver

Relational Format

Dissertation/Thesis

Abstract

As populations expand and natural water resources are depleted, severe droughts and limited access to clean water have become an increased threat to areas across the world. Effective and economic water treatment methods such as electrodialysis (ED) are vital for combating these threats, especially in developing nations and secluded locations. Organic foulant adsorption on the surface of ion exchange membranes severely limits the capabilities of water desalination systems such as ED along with significantly increasing maintenance costs. Understanding characteristics such as the total amount and rate at which these foulants at specific concentrations adsorb and desorb to the membranes is paramount for improving system process performance. To observe the precise rate of fouling for two foulants commonly used in experimentation: sodium alginate (SA) and bovine serum albumin (BSA), this study proposed employing the quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation monitoring (QCM-D) due to its precise, real-time measurement of surface interactions. The procedure for developing a mock ion-exchange membrane on the surface of a gold QCM-D sensor was developed and various techniques were used to validate the formation of the membrane layer such as atomic force microscopy (AFM) and contact angle (CA) analysis. The validation results signify that out of the methods applied, increasing the amount of applied coating solution from 150 to 300 drops caused the development of a more uniform mock ion exchange membrane (IEM) layer. Furthermore, drying the sensors in an oven at 60°C between coating reduced material clustering and thus decreased the average roughness (R_a) value. This novel coating methodology is highly adaptable and could streamline the development and testing of case-specific feedwater foulant profiles, anti-foulant coatings, and effective cleaning procedures.

Recommended Citation

Ulmer, Andrew, "Development of Novel Sensor Coating Methodology to Enable Understanding of Fouling Mechanisms on Ion Exchange Membranes" (2023). Honors Theses. 2866.
https://egrove.olemiss.edu/hon_thesis/2866

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