Stochastic Collision-Attachment-Based Monte Carlo Simulation of Colloidal Fouling: Transition from Foulant-Clean-Membrane Interaction to Foulant-Fouled-Membrane Interaction.

The initial behavior of colloidal fouling is governed by foulant-clean-membrane interaction (F-M), and its long-term behavior is determined by foulant-fouled-membrane interaction (F-F). Nevertheless, the transitional fouling behavior from F-M to F-F has not been fully understood. This study reports a novel collision attachment (CA)-Monte Carlo (MC) approach, with the stochastic colloid-membrane collision events modeled by MC and the probability of colloidal attachment to the membrane determined by the interplay of flux and the energy barrier arising from colloid-membrane interaction (Em for F-M and Ef for F-F). The long-term membrane flux remains stable for large Ef, whereas severe fouling occurs when both Em and Ef are small. Our study reveals the existence of a metastable flux behavior for the combination of large Em but small Ef. The time evolution of flux behavior and colloidal deposition patterns shows a nearly constant flux for an extended period, with the high energy barrier Em retarding initial colloidal deposition. However, accidental random deposition of a colloidal particle could reduce the local energy barrier (toward the smaller Ef), seeding for further colloidal deposition in its vicinity. This initiates an uneven patch-wise fouling and eventually leads to a complete transition to F-F-dominated behavior. The metastable period can be effectively extended by increasing the energy barrier (Em or Ef) or lowering flux, which provides important implications to membrane design and operation.