FURI | Spring 2021

Antimicrobial Effect of Sulfidized Silver Nanoparticles After a Three-Month Operation Period in a Reverse Osmosis 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. Different concentrations (10^-1, 10^-3, and 10^-5 M) of Na₂S to form a partial Ag₂S layer were observed to slow down the release of silver nanoparticles. A testbed trial of the sufidized Ag NPs coated membranes operated for three months. In this study, a toxicity assay using Pseudomonas aeruginosa was done on spent modules to observe antimicrobial activity and determine if sulfidized silver helped maintain the antimicrobial performance of silver nanoparticles after the three-month operation.