A novel ceramic membrane for membrane fouling elimination via peroxymonosulfate activation: Synchronously improved filtration performance and cleaning mechanism of radical oxidation

Membrane fouling is an obstacle to the widespread application of ceramic membranes, and the advanced oxidation process (AOP) can provide new cleanup strategies for ceramic membranes. In this study, a Fe-modified ceramic membrane for membrane fouling elimination via peroxymonosulfate (PMS) activation was prepared, and its permeability, retention and backwashing properties were evaluated comprehensively. The introduction of Fe resulted in an increase in membrane flux from 177.1 L & sdot;m- 2 & sdot; h- 1 & sdot; bar- 1 to 251.1 L & sdot;m- 2 & sdot; h- 1 & sdot; bar- 1 . Boundary slip theory and COMSOL simulation were employed to elucidate the mechanisms underlying flux promotion, suggesting that the formation of an attached water layer on the hydrophilic interface may be responsible for the flux increase. The XDLVO theory was applied to analyze the membrane fouling process, revealing that the introduction of Fe increased the retention of the membrane by interface enrichment effect. In addition, the Fe- modified ceramic membrane demonstrated the capacity to activate PMS and generate free radicals. The cleanup effect of the modified membrane was significantly improved, with a high pure water flux change rate of 122 % before and after the backwash process coupled with AOP. In this work, the properties of transition metal Fe- modified ceramic membrane and its application in AOP-assisted backwashing were systematically described, which provides a new idea for efficient membrane cleaning.