Effects of ultrafiltration membrane surface properties on Pseudomonas aeruginosa biofilm initiation for the purpose of reducing biofouling

Biofilm fouling is one of the major obstacles hindering the use of membranes in water processing systems. There are a series of events that take place during biofilm formation, one of the most interesting and important issues of biofouling is the initial attachment of microorganisms to the surface. Therefore, effects that surface properties have on biofilm fouling are important to attachment and were examined. Hydrophobicity, surface charge and roughness were measured for several polymeric surfaces of interest in water processing membrane systems. These surfaces were then subjected to conditioning layer formation and biofilm fouling, both of which were quantified. The results show that biofilm initiation by a strain of Pseudomonas aeruginosa increases as the surface becomes more rough and more hydrophobic, while fouling is minimal when surface charge is minimized and increases with increasing charge, whether positive or negative.