Fouling of colloidal suspensions probed by microPIV and SAXS
Résumé
Cross-flow ultrafiltration of colloidal suspensions is mainly limited by the accumulation of particles at membrane surface submitted to shear flow and pressure forces. This study focuses on understanding the mechanism involved in the formation of the concentrated layers by combining small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) and for the first time “in situ and time resolved” micro Particle Image Velocimetry measurements (micro-PIV) during crossflow ultrafiltration. SAXS leads to the determination of concentration profiles at nanometric length scales when micro-PIV, at micrometric length scales, gives information of velocity fields near the membrane surface and during the filtration time.