Fouling and cleaning of membrane processes in ligno-cellulosic biorefineries

Reduction of fouling and efficient cleaning is of great importance for membrane processes to be successfully implemented in ligno-cellulosic biorefineries on an industrial scale. The key objective of this project is to develop real time methods to analyse fouling and cleaning plus new cleaning methods, e.g. enzymatic cleaning. Thus, the project aims to reduce water consumption, cleaning chemical consumption and cleaning cycle time plus extending the membrane life cycle for membrane processes in biorefinery applications. This is achieved by studying and modelling membrane fouling and cleaning of lignin and hemicellulose – key components in ligno-cellulosic biorefineries – on ultrafiltration membranes using the combination of complementary advanced analytical methods.