Table 4.
Characterisation of the foulants in the extraction solutions (MilliQ water and 0.01 M NaOH solution) from the PVDF and modified PVDF membrane (mPVDF). Results are expressed per unit of membrane area
| PVDF | mPVDF | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Water | NaOH | Total | Water | NaOH | Total | |
| COD*, µg O2 cm−2 | 109.8 | 0.0 | 109.8 | 98.3 | 28.9 | 127.2 |
| Alkalinity*, µg CaCO3 cm−2 | 147.1 | 36.8 | 183.9 | 144.9 | 38.6 | 183.5 |
| Proteins*, µg cm−2 | 45.3 | 13.4 | 58.7 | 48.7 | 6.7 | 55.4 |
| Polysaccharides*, µg cm−2 | 31.1 | 5.3 | 36.4 | 38.2 | 7.1 | 45.2 |
| PO43−*, µg cm−2 | 164.7 | 2.9 | 167.6 | 101.2 | 0.0 | 101.2 |
| TSS, µg cm−2 | 0.18 | 0.00 | 0.18 | 0.72 | 0.05 | 0.77 |
| VSS, µg cm−2 | 0.18 | 0.00 | 0.18 | 0.53 | 0.05 | 0.58 |
| Number of live cells*, cells cm−2 10−5 | 38 | 4 | 41 | 10 | 6 | 16 |
| Number of dead cells*, cells cm−2 10−5 | 22 | 1 | 23 | 8 | 1 | 9 |
*Measured after sample filtration (0.7 µm)