Electrochemical cleaning of microporous metallic filters fouled with bovine serum albumin and phosphate under low cross-flow velocities

R. D. Webster*, S. V.V. Chilukuri, J. A. Levesley, B. J. Webster

*Corresponding author for this work

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

    6 Citations (Scopus)

    Abstract

    A three-electrode electrochemical cell has been designed to test the cleaning efficiency of applying potentials or currents to 0.2 μm pore size silver membranes fouled with bovine serum albumin and phosphate under low crossflow velocities. It was found that with the improved electrochemical efficiency of the three-electrode design (compared to two-electrode cells) only relatively small current densities (about -40 μA cm-2) needed to be applied in order to charge the membranes sufficiently to cause the reduction of water. The best results for electrochemically cleaning fouled membranes were obtained when negative currents were applied to membranes in a moderate strength acid environment. It was found that the interfacial pH changes associated with the reduction of water were important in cleaning the membranes in addition to the agitation action of bubbles of hydrogen gas.

    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)915-924
    Number of pages10
    JournalJournal of Applied Electrochemistry
    Volume30
    Issue number8
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - Aug 2000

    Fingerprint

    Dive into the research topics of 'Electrochemical cleaning of microporous metallic filters fouled with bovine serum albumin and phosphate under low cross-flow velocities'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

    Cite this