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Author: Linkhorst, John × End date: 2024 × Start date: 2020 × End date: 2019 × Start date: 2016 × DDC: 500 × DDC: 600 × Type: article ×

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    Microfluidic colloid filtration
    ([London] : Macmillan Publishers Limited, part of Springer Nature, 2016) Linkhorst, John; Beckmann, Torsten; Go, Dennis; Kuehne, Alexander J. C.; Wessling, Matthias
    Filtration of natural and colloidal matter is an essential process in today’s water treatment processes. The colloidal matter is retained with the help of micro- and nanoporous synthetic membranes. Colloids are retained in a “cake layer” – often coined fouling layer. Membrane fouling is the most substantial problem in membrane filtration: colloidal and natural matter build-up leads to an increasing resistance and thus decreasing water transport rate through the membrane. Theoretical models exist to describe macroscopically the hydrodynamic resistance of such transport and rejection phenomena; however, visualization of the various phenomena occurring during colloid retention is extremely demanding. Here we present a microfluidics based methodology to follow filter cake build up as well as transport phenomena occuring inside of the fouling layer. The microfluidic colloidal filtration methodology enables the study of complex colloidal jamming, crystallization and melting processes as well as translocation at the single particle level.
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    Direct Observation of Deformation in Microgel Filtration
    ([London] : Macmillan Publishers Limited, part of Springer Nature, 2019) Linkhorst, John; Rabe, Jonas; Hirschwald, Lukas T.; Kuehne, Alexander J. C.; Wessling, Matthias
    Colloidal filtration processes using porous membranes suffer from productivity loss due to colloidal matter retention and continuous build-up by the retained matter. Especially during filtration of soft matter, the deformation of the individual colloids that make up the filter cake may be significant; however, this deformation and its impact remain unresolved so far. Yet, understanding the deformation on the single colloid level as well as on the ensemble level is important to be able to deconvolute filter cake properties from resistance increase of the membrane either by simultaneous internal adsorption or blocking of pores. Here, we report on the compression of a filter cake by filtrating soft microgels in a microfluidic channel in front of a model membrane. To study the single colloid deformation amorphous and crystalline domains were built up in front of the membrane and visualized on-line using confocal fluorescence microscopy while adjusting the degree of permeation, i.e., the transmembrane flux. Results show locally pronounced asymmetric deformation in amorphous domains, while the microgels in colloidal crystals approached regular polyeder shape. Increasing the flux beyond the maximum colloid deformation results in non-isochoric microgel behavior. The presented methodology enables a realistic description of complex colloidal matter deposits during filtration.