A new method for in line electrokinetic characterization of cakes

The present study is devoted to the validation of a new method for in line electrokinetic characterisation of deposits on membrane surfaces. This method is based upon simultaneous measurements of transversal streaming potential and permeates flux at constant pressure before and during the deposit formation. Dead-end filtration experiments were conducted with negative flat membranes forming a narrow slit channel, negative hollow fiber membranes and mono-dispersed suspensions of (negatively charged) polystyrene latex and (positively charged) melamine particles at various concentrations. It was observed that the overall streaming potential coefficient increased in absolute value with the deposited latex quantity, whereas it decreased and changed of sign during the filtration of melamine suspensions. By considering a resistance-in-series model, the streaming potential coefficient of the single deposit (<i>SPd</i>) was deduced from the electrokinetic and hydraulic measurements. The independence of <i>SPd</i> with respect to growth kinetics validates the measurement method and the reliability of the proposed procedure for calculating <i>SPd</i>. It was found that <i>SPd</i> levelled off much more quickly when filtration was performed through the slit channel. This different behaviour could result from a non-uniform distribution of the deposit thickness along the membrane given that the position of measuring electrodes is different between the two cells.