Effects of Background Ions on Polyethersulfone (Pes) Membrane Fouling by Natural Organic Matter (Nom)

135 p.Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2008.Hence, NOM aggregation was experimentally evaluated by dynamic light scattering measurements with SRNOM. These tests showed that calcium caused formation of supramolecular NOM clusters. Large-scale MD simulations with multiple NOM molecules were then performed to probe possible formation of supramolecular NOM structures or aggregates. The MD simulations revealed two different mechanisms of NOM aggregation. Calcium ions connect NOM molecules by co-complexation, forming linearly-shaped NOM aggregates. On the other hand, simulation results with magnesium and sodium are more consistent with a "salting-out", wherein the ions may promote more compact and spherically-shaped NOM clusters.U of I OnlyRestricted to the U of I community idenfinitely during batch ingest of legacy ETD