FURI | Fall 2021

Antimicrobial Effect of Sulfidized Silver Nanoparticles After a 17 Day Continuous Operation in a Reverse Osmosis Membrane Module for Biofouling Control

Silver is used for the in-situ formation of silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs) on thin-film composite reverse osmosis membranes to mitigate biofilm formation. A concentration of 10 mM NaNO₃ with Na₂S was used to form a partial Ag₂S layer observed to slow down the release of silver nanoparticles. In this study, a toxicity assay using Pseudomonas aeruginosa was performed on spent modules to observe the antimicrobial activity of sulfidized silver-coated membranes after the 17-day testbed operation compared to pristine Ag NPs. The anti-biofouling performance is expected to last longer in sulfidized Ag NPs than in Ag NPs.