CHARACTERIZATION OF CLEAN AND FOULED MEMBRANES USING METAL COLLOIDS

Studies on the use of colloidal silver and gold particles for membrane characterization are discussed. Due to the small size of the particle s and their high electron density, applications to membrane characteri zation includes highlighting pore structures by filtration onto both t op (skin layer side) and bottom of membranes, revealing heterogeneous deposition and penetration into the membrane surface, and visualizatio n of pore constriction due to protein deposition in fouled membranes.