High antibiofouling property of vertically aligned carbon nanotube membranes at a low cross-flow velocity operation in different bacterial solutions

Abstract

While membranes have been widely applied in water and wastewater treatment, further studies are still needed on the fouling issues. Vertically aligned carbon nanotube (VA CNT), an antibacterial nanomaterial, is a promising candidate for a membrane because of its superfast water permeability. The antibacterial and antibiofouling properties of VA CNT membranes were reported with a high permeate flux. This study showed the high antibiofouling property of VA CNT membranes at low cross-flow velocity operation in different bacterial solutions, resulting from its high antibacterial property, along with a quantitative comprehension of the relation between biofilms and fouling resistance of VA CNT membranes after membrane operation. These results facilitated the possibility of using VA CNT membranes for wastewater treatment, such as membrane bioreactors, even at a very low cross-flow velocity.