Characterisation and Mitigation of the Fouling of Ceramic
Microfiltration Membranes Caused by
Algal Organic Matter Released from Cyanobacteria
A thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Xiaolei Zhang
Master of Engineering (Environmental), Shanghai University, China
School of Civil Environmental and Chemical Engineering
College of Science Engineering and Health
RMIT University
August 2014
Declaration
I certify that except where due acknowledgement has been made, the work is that of the author alone;
the work has not been submitted previously, in whole or in part, to qualify for any other academic
award; the content of the thesis/project is the result of work which has been carried out since the
official commencement date of the approved research program; any editorial work, paid or unpaid,
carried out by a third party is acknowledged; and, ethics procedures and guidelines have been
followed.
Xiaolei Zhang
August 2014
Characterisation and Mitigation of the Fouling of Ceramic
Microfiltration Membranes Caused by
Algal Organic Matter Released from Cyanobacteria
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Xiaolei Zhang
Master of Engineering (Environmental), Shanghai University, China
School of Civil, Environmental & Chemical Engineering
RMIT University, Melbourne, Australia
August 2014
I
DECLARATION
I hereby declare that:
• the work presented in this thesis is my own work except where due
acknowledgement has been made;
• the work has not been submitted previously, in whole or in part, to qualify for any
other academic award;
• the content of the thesis is the result of work which has been carried out since the
official commencement date of the approved research program
Signed by
Xiaolei Zhang
II
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Firstly, I would like to thank Dr. Linhua Fan, my senior supervisor, for giving me the
opportunity to do a PhD in water science and technology and his scientific input in every
stage of this work. I am also grateful to Prof. Felicity A. Roddick, associate supervisor, for
her ponderable advice and positive criticisms.
I also wish to thank the staff of the School of Civil, Environmental and Chemical
Engineering, the Department of Applied Physics, the Department of Applied Chemistry and
Australian Microscopy & Microanalysis Research Facility at RMIT University, for the
valuable academic, administrative and technical assistance.
Lastly, my parents are thanked for giving the encouragement and support I most needed
during the time this research was carried out.
Xiaolei Zhang 15 August 2014