부유형 해양 광생물반응기의 선택적 투과막의 술폰화 반응을 통한 Biofouling 억제 및 미세조류 생산성 향상

The purpose of this study was to inhibit biofouling on a selectively permeable membrane (SPM) and increase biomass productivity in marine photobioreactors (PBRs) for microalgal cultivation by chemical treatment. Surfaces of a SPM, composed of polyethylene terephthalate (PET), was sulfonated to decrease hydrophobicity through attaching negatively charged sulfonic groups. Reaction time of sulfonation was varied from 0 min to 60 min. As the reaction time increased, the water contact angle value of SPM surface was decreased from 75.5o to 44.5o, indicating decrease of surface hydrophobicity. Furthermore, the water permeability of sulfonated SPM was increased from 5.42 mL/㎡/s to 10.58 mL/㎡/s, which reflects higher nutrients transfer rates through the membranes, due to decreased hydrophobicity. When cultivating Tetraselmis sp. using 100-mL floating PBRs with sulfonated SPMs, biomass productivity was improved by 34% compared with the control group (non-reacted SPMs). In addition, scanning electron microscopic observation of SPMs used for cultivation clearly revealed lower degree of cell attachment on the sulfonated SPMs. These results suggest that sulfornation of a PET SPM could improve microalgal biomass productivity by increasing nutrients transfer rates and inhibiting biofouling by algal cells.