Related Experiment Video
Updated: Feb 8, 2026

In vivo Structural Assessments of Ocular Disease in Rodent Models using Optical Coherence Tomography
Published on: July 24, 2020
Evaluation of fouling in nanofiltration for desalination using a resistance-in-series model and optical coherence
Jongkwan Park1, Sungyun Lee2, Jeongyeop You1
1School of Urban and Environmental Engineering, Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology, UNIST-gil 50, Ulsan 44919, Republic of Korea.
Abstract:
Resistance-in-series models have been applied to investigate fouling behavior. However, it is difficult to model the influence of morphology on fouling behavior because resistance is indirectly calculated from the water flux and transmembrane pressure. In this study, optical coherence tomography (OCT) was applied to evaluate the resistance of the fouling layer based on fouling morphology. Sodium alginate, humic acid, and bovine serum albumin (BSA) with high salts concentrations (conductivity: 23 mS/cm) were used as model foulants. At the same total fouling resistance, BSA showed the highest cake layer thickness (BSA (114.5 μm) > humic acid (53.5 μm) > sodium alginate (20.0 μm)). However, a different order was found for the cake layer resistance (BSA > sodium alginate > humic acid). This indicates that fouling thickness is not correlated with cake layer resistance. According to the Carman-Kozeny equation, fouling layer porosity decreased in the following order: humic acid (0.30) > BSA (0.21) > sodium alginate (0.20). In addition, we provided a specific value that was calculated using the ratio between the fouling thickness and cake layer resistance. The results show that alginic acid induced a stronger cake layer resistance, despite its thin fouling layer, whereas BSA showed a relatively low potential for inducing cake layer resistance. The results obtained in this study could be used for estimating and predicting fouling behavior.
Related Concept Videos
Resistors In Series
In a series circuit, the...
Series Resonance
Self-Evaluation Maintenance Model
Resistivity
Resistance
Series and Parallel Capacitors
First, consider capacitors connected in series to a battery. In this configuration, the plate connected to the battery's positive terminal develops a positive charge, while the plate attached to the negative terminal becomes negatively charged. An equal magnitude of charge is induced on the...

