Journal of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry 75 (2019) 123–129

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Journal of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/jiec

Fouling reduction using the resonance vibration in membrane

separation of whole milk
Seung-Hyun Kim* , Choong-Sik Min
Civil Engineering Department, Kyungnam University, Kyungnamdaehak-ro 7, Masanhappo-gu, Changwon 51767, Gyeongsangnam-do, Republic of Korea

A R T I C L E I N F O A B S T R A C T

Article history: Resonance vibration mitigated membrane fouling during whole milk filtration by submerged membrane
Received 15 January 2019 system with hollow fibers of polyvinylidene fluoride. Resonance vibration extended the filtration
Received in revised form 11 February 2019 duration (70 kPa) by 54 times, compared with no vibration. Resonance vibration was found more effective
Accepted 7 March 2019
for fouling reduction than mechanical vibration, at which module is vibrated mechanically without
Available online 16 March 2019
resonance effect. Fouling reduction performance of resonance vibration was not affected by packing
density because every fiber oscillates at resonance vibration. Larger lateral displacement and smaller
Keywords:
wave node were favored for fouling reduction. Use of long fiber for filtration decreased the frequency, but
Resonance
Vibration
increased lateral displacement.
Membrane © 2019 The Korean Society of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights
Fouling reserved.
Milk

Introduction remove minerals [10]. There is more application of low pressure

Application of membrane technology has been popular in the
dairy industry, as shown by its high annual growth rate of 7.5% in
the food industry [1]. The dairy industry, which corresponds to the
commercial activities of harvesting or processing animal milk for
human consumption, leads the food industry with its global milk
production amounting to 655 million tons every year [2].
Membrane technology is favored over conventional separation
technologies due to its advantages of high selectivity and operation
at moderate temperature. Membrane technology enables opera-
tion at moderate environment of temperature and pressure so that
organoleptic characteristics of the dairy products are not altered
[3–5].
Membrane technology has been successfully applied for
pasteurization, concentration and fractionation in the dairy
industry. Use of membrane technology enables the milk products
more valuable because their protein contents can be controlled.
The protein contents can be either increased or decreased [6]. The
high value protein such as α-lactoalbumin and β-lactoglobulin can
be recovered through membrane separation [7]. Microfiltration
(MF) can be used to remove bacteria and fat, while ultrafiltration
(UF) can be used to separate casein and serum protein [8,9].
Reverse osmosis (RO) can be used to concentrate milk and to
* Corresponding author.
E-mail addresses: shkim@kyungnam.ac.kr (S.-H. Kim), csmin@kyungnam.ac.kr
(C.-S. Min).
membranes such as MF and UF than of high pressure membranes
such as nanofiltration (NF) and RO in the dairy industry. According
to the market survey of the agro-food and bulk biotech, MF and UF
have a similar market share of 30–35%, respectively, while the
combined market share of NF and RO is 25–30% [2].
The application of membrane technology in the dairy industry
is challenged by membrane fouling [1]. Protein and fat are mainly
responsible for membrane fouling in the dairy industry. Serum
protein easily adsorbs onto the membrane surface. Casein micelles
form cake layer, causing the irreversible fouling. Fat generally
causes more serious membrane fouling than protein. Easy fouling
is the main reason why the application of membrane technology
has been relatively slowly progressed [11].
Membrane fouling can deteriorate the membrane operation
[12,13]. Flux declines under the constant pressure operation, which
reduces the plant capacity. Solutes, especially large ones, are
retained by membrane at certain extent depending on the
membrane pore size, while solvent passes through membrane in
the pressure driven membrane process. The retained solutes then
accumulate at the membrane surface with time, which leads to the
phenomenon of concentration polarization. The accumulated
solutes can form the gel layer at the membrane surface [14]. On
the other hand, small solutes penetrate membrane, and some may
end up blocking the membrane pores. Membrane fouling through
gel layer formation and the pore blocking can exert an extra
resistance to the membrane separation [15,16].
Membrane fouling can be controlled by several approaches,
which include pretreatment of the feed solution, modification of

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jiec.2019.03.011
1226-086X/© 2019 The Korean Society of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
124 S.-H. Kim, C.-S. Min / Journal of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry 75 (2019) 123–129

membrane properties and hydraulic or chemical cleaning [17]. frequency of the system on which it acts [26]. This causes the
Membrane fouling can be also controlled by modifying a module system to oscillate with larger amplitude than when the force
and process conditions. When the turbulent flow regime is is applied at other frequencies. The resonance vibration
provided, the effect of concentration polarization can be mini- utilizes the phenomenon of resonance. Membrane fibers
mized due to high shear rate at the membrane surface [17]. The oscillate at the resonance vibration once the natural frequency
crossflow velocity along the membranes is usually utilized to of fibers is provided. In this study, the resonance vibration is
induce high shear rate. The crossflow filtration however requires applied for whole milk filtration in order to investigate its
substantial energy. performance of fouling mitigation. Whether the fouling
Dynamic or shear-enhanced filtration is another approach to mitigation performance of the resonance vibration is affected
induce high shear rate to control membrane fouling. It produces by the packing density of module is also investigated in this
high shear rate at the membrane surface either by a rotating study. It is expected that the resonance vibration can suppress
membrane or a rotating disk near a fixed circular membrane or fouling progress even though a module is highly packed
vibrating membranes [18]. The first membrane vibrating because every fiber inside a module oscillates independently.
system, called vibratory shear-enhance processing (VSEP), This hypothesis was tested in this study. Effects of operating
was commercialized by New Logic Research, Inc. [18,19]. The parameters of the resonance vibration such as the resonance
VSEP utilizes the torsional vibration at the resonance frequency frequency and the amplitude, which are closely related to
of about 60 Hz. The use of resonance enables to minimize the shear rate, on fouling mitigation is then investigated.
power to produce the vibration, and only 9 KW was required for
the VSEP with 150 m 2 membrane area [10]. The key parameter Theory
of the VSEP is the displacement of the membrane rim, which is
limited to about 30 mm in order to avoid the breakage [18]. Beier et al. [21] provided the equation to calculate shear rate for
The calculated maximum shear rate of the VSEP is about the vertical vibration of hollow fibers. Shear rate is defined as the
1.4
105 s1 [18]. derivative of the velocity component along fibers with respect to
The vertical vibration, which moves membranes vertically, was the distance perpendicular to the membrane surface, as shown in
applied to the hollow fiber submerged membranes [20,21]. Genkin Eq. (1).
et al. [20] applied the vertical vibration for the hollow fiber ffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
r h  i
submerged membrane system (HFSMS) during filtration of baker’s rffiffiffiffiffiffiffi  pffiffiffiffiffiffi ffi
v yÞcosðvt
pffiffiffiffiffi
vy
yeast solution of 5 g L1. They found using the frequency of 10 Hz dvz v v = g Þy
sin vt
2 2g 2g
s¼ ¼ v0 e ð1Þ
and amplitude of 40 mm that shear rate and the critical flux dy 2g
increased with increasing frequency. According to their study, the
critical flux of 80 LMH (l m2 h1) could be achieved during filtration
of baker’s yeast solution at shear rate of 2000 s1. Beier et al [21] v0 = aveq. (2)
reported similar results. They used higher frequency of 30 Hz and
lower amplitudes (0.2, 0.7 and 1.175 mm) than Genkin et al. [20].
They also found that the critical flux during filtration of baker’s v = 2pf (3)
yeast solution of 5 g L1 increased with increasing frequency and where, s: shear rate, s 1

amplitude. v: cross flow velocity, m s1

The transverse vibration was recently investigated in a number y: distance from the membrane surface, m
of studies [22–24]. Kola et al. [22] applied the transverse vibration vo: cross flow velocity at the membrane surface, m s1
by either oscillating liquid or inducing linear displacement of v: angular frequency, s1
membrane module (0.5–5 mm). They used three hollow fibers of g : dynamic viscosity, m2 s1
0.15 m, which were spaced 8 mm from each other. The transverse a: amplitude, m
vibration effectively increased the critical flux for baker’s yeast f: frequency, Hz.
solution (4 g L1) from 10 LMH to 35 LMH at 10 Hz. They claimed Shear rate at the membrane surface and the maximum shear
[23] that the transverse vibration could generate higher shear rates rate can be obtained by Eqs. (4) and (5). According to these
due to the added benefit of the secondary flows induced as a result equations, shear rate is proportional to the frequency raised to the
of the interactions between vortices from the vibrating hollow 1.5 power and the displacement (half of amplitude), while it is
fibers. inversely proportional to the square root of the dynamic viscosity.
There are mixed results on an effect of the packing density on rffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
fouling reduction. According to Chai et al. [24], fouling reduction v
s s ¼ v0 ½sinðvtÞ  cosðvtÞ ð4Þ
was affected by the number of fibers. They reported less membrane 2g
fouling when milk protein concentrate was filtered by a module
with three fibers (0.018 kPa min1) than by a module with eight
sffiffiffiffi
fibers (0.042 kPa min1) in the transverse vibration membrane 2
system. They also claimed that fiber arrangement is important for s max ¼ ðpf Þ1:5 d ð5Þ
g
fouling reduction. Less fouling occurred when fibers were arranged
in the staggered configuration than inline configuration. Li et al. where, t; time, s
[25] investigated an effect of the packing density on fouling d; displacement, m.
reduction using the vertical vibration. They compared four Kola et al. [24] provided the shear rate equation for the
different packing densities of 12%, 17%, 24% and 31%. According transverse vibration, as shown in Eq. (6).
to their result, an effect of packing density was different, ffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
r h  i
depending on the feed solution (Bentonite or Yeast solution), rffiffiffiffiffiffiffi  pffiffiffiffiffiffi ffi
v yÞsinðvt
pffiffiffiffiffi
vy
dvz x v v = g Þy
cos vt
2 2g 2g
and the extent of the amplitude. s¼ ¼ 2v0 sin e ð6Þ
dy R 2g
The resonance vibration is introduced in this study.
Resonance is a phenomenon that occurs when the frequency where, x: distance from the center of the fiber in x direction, m
at which a force is periodically applied is equal to the natural R: radius of the fiber, m
 S.-H. Kim, C.-S. Min / Journal of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry 75 (2019) 123–129 125

The natural frequency of a fiber is related to the wave node, fiber the pressure gauge, and the amounts of filtrate measured by an
length, the applied tension and linear density, as follows [27,28]; electronic balance.
sffiffiffiffi
n T Identification of the natural frequency of membrane fibers
fo ¼ ð Þ ð7Þ
2L m
According to Eq. (7), the natural frequency of membrane fibers
where, fo: natural frequency, Hz
is related to the wave node, fiber length, tension applied and linear
n: wave node
density of membrane fibers. An arbitrary tension was first applied
L: fiber length, m
to a membrane module in order to find the natural frequency of
T: applied tension, N
membrane fibers. The frequency was then scanned until mem-
m: linear density, kg m1 brane fibers oscillated. The frequency at which fibers oscillate
becomes the natural frequency of membrane fibers. The natural
Materials and methods
frequency of membrane fibers under conditions used in this study
was found 103–107 Hz unless the wave node and fiber length were
Whole milk
changed.

Whole milk was purchased locally, and its characteristics

Adjustment of the resonance frequency and the amplitude
provided by the manufacturer are shown in Table 1. As shown in
Table 1, three major components of whole milk are carbohydrates,
The resonance frequency and the amplitude were varied in
fat and protein. The pH of whole milk was 6.8. Since whole milk is
order to investigate their effects on fouling mitigation. The
generally delivered at 10  C to avoid decomposition, all experi-
resonance frequency was varied by controlling number of nodes
ments in this study were conducted at 10  C.
and fiber length. Single, double and triple nodes, and three
different fiber lengths (0.12 m, 0.15 m and 0.18 m) were tested. The
Membrane and module
amplitude was varied by adjusting the current applied to the
power amplifier. Higher current produced larger amplitude. The
Two polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) hollow fibers were used for
current of 0.4–1.4 A was applied, resulting in 45–164 W.
filtration of whole milk. Both fibers have average pore size of
0.1 mm. One fiber had outside diameter of 1.2 mm and inside
Critical flux
diameter of 0.7 mm (Econity, Republic of Korea), while the other
fiber had outside diameter pf 2.0 mm and inside diameter of
The critical flux was determined in order to evaluate the fouling
0.95 mm (PHILOS, Republic of Korea). These fibers were cut into
reduction performance of the resonance vibration. The critical flux
0.15 m and both ends were bonded using epoxy to fabricate a
was measured by the flux-step method. [29] The flux was
membrane module. Modules with different packing densities (10%,
incrementally increased every 15 min. The flux step used in this
35% and 50%) were fabricated when an effect of the packing density
study was 5 LMH. The critical flux was identified as the maximum
on the performance of fouling reduction was evaluated. The
flux where the TMP rate was less than 0.03 kPa min1.
packing density is the ratio of cross sectional area of membranes
inside a module to cross sectional area of a module.
Results and discussion

Resonance vibration submerged membrane system (RVSMS)

Determination of the critical flux

Fig. 1 shows the schematic of the RVSMS, which consists of the

An effect of the resonance vibration on fouling reduction during
resonance vibration system (RVS), and the submerged membrane
whole milk filtration by the RVSMS was evaluated using the critical
system (SMS). The RVS consists of the function waveform
flux. The critical fluxes of whole milk filtration with and without
generator (33511B, Keysight, USA), the power amplifier (PA-151,
the resonance vibration is compared in Fig. 2. According to Fig. 2,
Labworks Inc., USA) and the shake vibrator (ET-132-2, Labworks,
the TMP quickly increased even at the lowest flux of 5 LMH without
Inc., USA). The function waveform generator produces the wave at
help of the resonance vibration. The TMP increased to about 50 kPa
the natural frequency of membrane fibers. The wave is amplified by
within 15 min of filtration. Doubling the flux (10 LMH) expedited
the power amplifier. The shake vibrator then delivers the amplified
the TMP increase, and the TMP reached over 75 kPa after 30 min.
wave to membrane fibers in the SMS. The SMS consists of hollow
This result indicates that membrane could foul quickly when
fiber membrane module, a pressure gauge (ISE80, SMC, Japan), a
whole milk is filtered by the RVSMS. The resonance vibration
peristaltic pump (Master flex L/S, Cole-Parmer Inc., UAS), an
helped reduce membrane fouling, as shown by the increased
electronic balance (EK-6100i, AND, Republic of Korea) and the data
critical flux. The resonance vibration successfully suppressed the
acquisition device (34970A, Keysight, USA). The data acquisition
TMP increase, which became insignificant up to the filtration flux
device recorded the transmembrane pressures (TMP) measured by
of 10 LMH. The TMP started to increase after the flux was raised to
15 LMH. This result led to determination of the critical flux of
whole milk filtration by the RVSMS with help of the resonance
Table 1
Characteristics of whole milk used in this study. vibration to be 10 LMH.

Components Concentration, %
Resonance vibration vs mechanical vibration
Water 85
Carbohydrates 5.0
It was then investigated whether the fouling reduction was
Fat 3.6
Protein 3.0
actually caused by the resonance effect. The fouling reduction
Calcium 1.0 might be caused by simple mechanical action. It is expected that
Sodium 0.5 resonance occurs at the resonance vibration, while such effect is
Others 1.9 absent at the mechanical vibration, at which a module is vibrated
mechanically. This hypothesis was examined. Since the natural
126 S.-H. Kim, C.-S. Min / Journal of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry 75 (2019) 123–129
Fig. 1. Schematic of the resonance vibration submerged membrane system (RVSMS) used in this study and its picture.
Fig. 2. Critical flux determination of whole milk filtration with and without the
resonance vibration at the frequency of 103 Hz.
frequency of membrane fiber is related to the tension, varying the
tension changes the natural frequency. Therefore, the tension was
intentionally reduced in order to induce the mechanical vibration
so that the resonance effect was absent. All test conditions were
the same, except the tension applied. Occurrence of resonance was
checked by the resulting lateral displacement of membrane fibers.
Although not shown here, the resonance vibration generated
substantial lateral displacement of fiber. Its amplitude was
measured 7.5 mm. The mechanical vibration resulted in minimal
displacement, and corresponding amplitude was measured
0.3 mm. This result confirms the resonance effect at the resonance
vibration. Then, fouling behaviors by the resonance vibration and
the mechanical vibration were compared while filtering whole
milk by the RVSMS at 15 LMH, which is higher than the critical flux.
This result is shown in Fig. 3. Fig. 3 also showed the TMP increase of
the filtration without vibration, at which membrane fouled
instantaneously (11 min). Vibration helped retard membrane
fouling. When fibers were vibrated mechanically, the filtration
duration to reach the target TMP of 70 kPa was extended to
213 min. The resonance vibration extended the filtration duration
even further. The TMP was suppressed very low up to 6 h of
Fig. 3. Comparison of fouling behaviors between the resonance vibration and the
mechanical vibration during whole milk filtration using RVSMS at 15 LMH.
filtration. The resonance vibration extended the filtration duration
to reach the target TMP into 599 min, which is 2.8 times extension,
compared to the mechanical vibration. When compared to no
vibration, the extension was 54 times. This result clearly indicates
that the resonance vibration is more effective for fouling reduction
than the mechanical vibration.
Effect of the packing density
An advantage of hollow fiber membrane module lies in its high
packing density compared to other types of module such as plate
and frame and spiral wound. It is therefore important that the
resonance effect is sustained even for a highly packed module at
the resonance vibration. However, there are studies reporting that
the vibration effect on fouling reduction could be affected by the
packing density. An effect of the packing density was therefore
investigated. Since all fibers oscillate at the resonance vibration, it
is hypothesized that membrane fouling is not affected by the
packing density at the resonance vibration. In order to test this
hypothesis, three modules with different packing densities of 10%,
 S.-H. Kim, C.-S. Min / Journal of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry 75 (2019) 123–129 127

35% and 50% were fabricated, and their fouling behaviors were
monitored while filtering whole milk at two different fluxes;
supra-critical flux (20 LMH) and critical flux (10 LMH). The results
are shown in Fig. 4. According to Fig. 4, all three modules showed
similar TMP rates at both fluxes. This result confirms the
hypothesis that the fouling mitigation performance of the
resonance vibration is not affected by the packing density. Since
every fiber oscillates independently at the resonance vibration, all
modules were able to sustain similar fouling mitigation perfor-
mance whether or not they were highly packed.
Effect of the amplitude
Among the amplitude and the resonance frequency, the
frequency is more important than the amplitude because shear
rate is proportional to the amplitude, but to the frequency raised to
the 1.5 power. Since membrane fouling is closely related to shear
rate, effects of the amplitude and the resonance frequency on
fouling reduction was investigated. While the resonance frequency
was fixed at 103–107 Hz, lateral displacement was varied by
increasing or decreasing the amplifier power from 46~164 W. As
shown in Table 2, lateral displacements resulting from the
resonance vibration were measured in the range of 0.5–8 mm,
and corresponding shear rates calculated using Eq. (6) were in the
range of 7282–116,514 s1.
The extent of fouling in terms of the TMP rate as a function of
lateral displacement is shown in Fig. 5. Fig. 5 clearly shows higher
TMP rate at less displacement. The TMP rate was 0.38 kPamin-1 at
the displacement of 0.5 mm (shear rate of 7282 s1). It was reduced
to 0.14 kPamin-1 when the displacement was increased to 4 mm
(shear rate of 58,257 s1). Similar result was reported. When Beier
et al. [21] increased the amplitude from 0.2 mm to 1.175 mm, the
critical flux of the Yeast solution using the vertical vibration was
increased by 81%. However, there was an optimum displacement,
above which no obvious fouling reduction was observed. The TMP
rate change was insignificant when lateral displacement was
doubled from 4 mm to 8 mm. This result indicates that lateral
displacement is important for fouling reduction. Large lateral
displacement is favored for fouling reduction. It should be however
noted that large lateral displacement of fibers by increasing the
amplifier power is also accompanied by more energy requirement.
Effect of the wave node
An effect of the resonance frequency on fouling reduction was
then investigated. The resonance frequency was varied by
controlling the wave node or fiber length. First, the number of
wave node was increased from one to two, and then to three, which
doubled (211 Hz) or tripled (314 Hz) the resonance frequency. An
effect of the wave node on fouling reduction during whole milk
filtration is shown in Fig. 6. Fig. 6 showed higher TMP rate at larger
node. This contradicts the expectation that higher frequency could
be favored for fouling reduction. Since shear rate is proportional to
the frequency raised to the 1.5 power, high frequency leads to high
shear rate, which then leads to fouling reduction. However,
membrane fouling accelerated with increasing wave node. The
TMP rate was measured 0.13 kPa min1 at a single node (resonance
frequency of 104 Hz). It increased to 0.22 kPa min1 at double

Fig. 5. Change in the TMP rate as a function of displacement during whole milk
filtration at 15 LMH using the RVSMS.

Fig. 4. Results of an effect of the packing density on membrane fouling during

whole milk filtration at the fluxes of 20 LMH and 10 LMH using RVSMS.

Table 2
Lateral displacements, and calculated shear rates as a function of power.

Power, W Displacement, mm Shear rate, s1

46 0.5 7282
56 3 43,693
78 4 58,257
121 7.5 109,232
164 8 116,514 Fig. 6. Effect of the resonance frequency on the TMP rate during whole milk
filtration at 15 LMH using the RVSMS; the frequency was varied by the wave node.
128 S.-H. Kim, C.-S. Min / Journal of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry 75 (2019) 123–129
nodes (frequency of 211 Hz), and 0.49 kPa min1 at triple nodes
(frequency of 314 Hz).
The displacement shrink with increasing node could explain
such unexpected fouling behavior. Lateral displacement decreased
with increasing wave node. The resonance vibration generated
lateral displacement of 7.5 mm at a single node. It was decreased to
3 mm at double nodes, and 0.2 mm at triple nodes, as shown in.
Fig. 7. Fig. 7 clearly shows that use of higher wave nodes led to less
displacements. The displacement shrink was reflected in shear
rate. Shear rates were calculated 110,827 s1 at a single node,
128,108 s1 at double nodes and 15,504 s1 at triple nodes. Shear
rate at triple nodes was substantially decreased due to minimal
displacement (0.2 mm). Although shear rate at a single node was
slightly smaller than that at double nodes, its TMP rate was lower
than the corresponding rate at double nodes, indicating better
fouling reduction. This might be explained by the dead spot. There
was no lateral displacement at the node. Such dead spot was
created at the middle of fibers at double nodes, at which fouling
limitation was absent. Two dead spots were created at triple nodes,
which aggravated the fouling mitigation performance of the
resonance vibration. This result indicates that an increase of the
wave node is not beneficial for fouling reduction. Although an
increase in the wave node increased the frequency, it decreased
lateral displacement of fibers and created dead spots, at which
there was no lateral displacement. Eventually, membrane fouling
was accelerated.
Effect of fiber length
The resonance frequency was then varied by using different
length of fibers (0.12 m, 0.15 m, 0.18 m) while the same amount of
energy is provided at a single node. The natural frequency of
membrane fibers was reduced from 127 Hz (0.12 m fibers) to
104 Hz (0.15 m fibers) and to 78 Hz (0.18 m fibers). Since the
resonance frequency was inversely proportional to fiber length, an
increase in fiber length by 25% (0.12 m–0.15 m) is expected to
generate the 80% frequency, compared to 127 Hz. The frequency
measurement showed 82% (104 Hz). The 50% increase in fiber
length (0.12 m–0.18 m) is expected to generate the 67% frequency,
and the actual measurement was 61% (78 Hz). On the other hand,
use of long fibers increased lateral displacement. The displace-
ments were increased from 7 mm (0.12 m fibers), to 7.5 mm (0.15 m
fibers) and to 8 mm (0.18 m fibers).
Fig. 7. Variation of the wave node and the subsequent decrease in lateral
displacement.
Fig. 8 shows an effect of fiber length on fouling behavior during
whole milk filtration. The TMP rates for 0.12 m fibers (0.12 kPa
min1) and 0.15 m fibers (0.13 kPa min1) were similar. Use of
longer fibers for the filtration decreased the frequency, but
increased lateral displacement. While the resonance frequency
with use of 0.15 m fibers (104 Hz) was lower than that with use of
shorter fibers (127 Hz), lateral displacement was larger (7.5 mm vs
7 mm). The combined change in the frequency and the displace-
ment attributed to similar fouling behaviors for 0.12 m and 0.15 m
fibers. The highest TMP rate was obtained (0.17 kPa min1) when
0.18 m fibers were used for the filtration probably because the
extent of the frequency decrease (61%) was greater than that of the
displacement increase (14%).
This result indicates that fiber length is closely related to the
resonance frequency and lateral displacement. Use of longer fibers
decreased the resonance frequency, but increased lateral displace-
ment. Both the resonance frequency and lateral displacement are
important for fouling reduction. Higher frequency and larger
lateral displacement increase shear rate, and high shear rate is
beneficial for fouling reduction. The resonance frequency and
lateral displacement are also related to energy consumption. More
energy is required in order to provide higher frequency, and larger
displacement. Therefore, fiber length should be selected in
consideration of its effect on the resonance frequency and lateral
displacement.
Energy consumption
Energy consumption of the resonance vibration was then
calculated in order to compare with those of other shear-enhanced
techniques such as aeration and high cross flow filtration. Since
there was insignificant change in the TMP rate after displacement
of 4 mm (Fig. 5), the operation condition at frequency of 103 Hz and
displacement of 4 mm was selected for the energy consumption
calculation. Power requirements for the RVSMS were 78 W under
this condition (Table 2). The maximum weight that the RVSMS
used in this study can sustain is 5 kg, and the linear density of
membrane fiber is 1.15 g m1. Considering the outside diameter of
2 mm of membrane fiber, the RVSMS can manage membrane area
up to 27 m2. Therefore, the specific power per unit membrane area
for the resonance vibration is calculated 2.9 W m2. Energy
consumption of the resonance vibration for whole milk filtration
at 10  C at the critical flux of 10 LMH becomes 0.29 KWh m3.
For typical membrane bioreactor (MBR), the specific aeration
demand per unit membrane area is 0.3–0.75 Nm3 m2 h1, and
Fig. 8. Effect of the resonance frequency on the TMP rate during whole milk
filtration at 15 LMH using the RVSMS; the frequency was varied by fiber length.
 S.-H. Kim, C.-S. Min / Journal of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry 75 (2019) 123–129
specific power per unit membrane area is 7–17 W m2 [30]. If the
same flux (10 LMH) is assumed, energy consumption of aeration
alone becomes 0.7–1.7 KWh m3. A study investigating skim milk
filtration at 50  C using ceramic membrane (membrane area of
1.7 m2) was employed to calculate energy consumption of the high
cross flow filtration. They obtained the permeate flux of 72.5 LMH
using circulating flow rate of 713 l min1and pressure difference of
230 kPa [31]. Power and the specific energy consumption for skim
milk filtration at 50  C using their data was calculated 2739 W and
22.2 KWh m3, respectively.
Wcirc = Qcirc(Pin–Pout)
where, Wcirc: power required for circulation, W
Qcirc: circulating flow rate, m3 s1
Pin: pressure in, Pa
Pout: pressure out, Pa
These results clearly indicate the benefit of the resonance
vibration. Significant energy saving can be achieved through the
resonance vibration.
Conclusion
The resonance vibration successfully mitigated membrane
fouling that occurred during whole milk filtration by the
submerged membrane system with hollow fibers of PVDF. It
was found that the resonance vibration was more effective for
fouling mitigation than the mechanical vibration, at which
membrane fibers were vibrated mechanically without the reso-
nance effect. The resonance vibration was able to extend the
filtration duration at the supra-critical flux (15 LMH) to reach the
target TMP of 70 kPa by 2.8 times, compared to the mechanical
vibration. When compared to the filtration without vibration, the
resonance vibration could extend the duration by 54 times. The
resonance vibration was insensitive to the packing density because
every fiber oscillates independently at the resonance vibration.
This insensitivity could be a big asset for commercialization
because high packing density is preferred in practical applications.
It was found that larger lateral displacement and smaller wave
node were favored for fouling reduction of whole milk filtration.
Use of a single node resulted in better fouling reduction than use of
double or triple nodes. Fiber length was found closely related to the
resonance frequency and lateral displacement. Use of longer fibers
decreased the frequency, but increased lateral displacement. The
resonance vibration was able to reduce the energy consumption
significantly.
Acknowledgements
This work was supported by the National Research Foundation
of Korea(NRF) grant funded by the Korea government(MEST). (No.
2017R1A2B4008530)
129
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