This project is focused on the development of novel modification routes, which enable the production of membranes with antibiofouling characteristics. Natural phenolic compounds available for instance in underutilized biomass fractions will be used as the modification agents. To enable successful modification the possible interactions between the phenolic compounds and micro-organisms and phenolic compounds and membrane surface will be modelled by utilizing the modelling tools used typically in pharmacy for molecular modelling. The antibiofouling capability of the novel modified membranes will be tested both in off-line and in situ experiments. The knowledge achieved in the project is used to develop antibiofouling strategies utilizing natural phenolic compounds to prevent biofouling in wastewater treatment applications. The project is implemented as collaboration of LUT University and University of Eastern Finland.

2021

2025