This study investigates the potential of surface-patterned membranes in replacing the conventional feed spacer-assisted filtration process. Two types of surface patterns, namely diamond (D) and honeycomb (HC), were utilized in the fabrication of the surface-patterned membranes. These membranes showed larger effective membrane area and higher average porosity when compared to the flat PES membrane. The D-Patterned and HC-Patterned membranes achieved pure water flux of 76.6 ± 16.9 and 88.3 ± 17.4 L m⁻² h⁻¹, respectively, which was higher than the flat PES membrane with and without the use of feed spacers. Furthermore, the patterned membranes reported lower natural organic matter (NOM) fouling in short and long-term filtration experiments and higher flux recovery ratio (FRR), indicating their superior anti-fouling performance over the PES membrane when using feed spacers. Overall, the simple fabrication technique, higher permeability, and excellent anti-fouling performance of the surface-patterned membranes render them suitable for potentially replacing the current configuration used in spacer-assisted filtration processes.

本研究探讨了表面图案膜替代传统进料间隔辅助过滤工艺的潜力。在表面图案膜的制造中使用了两种类型的表面图案，即菱形（D）和蜂窝状（HC）。与平面 PES 膜相比，这些膜显示出更大的有效膜面积和更高的平均孔隙率。^{D-图案和HC-图案膜分别实现了76.6 ± 16.9和88.3 ± 17.4 L m -2} h ^-1的纯水通量，这高于使用和不使用进料间隔件的平坦PES膜。此外，图案化膜在短期和长期过滤实验中表现出较低的天然有机物 (NOM) 污垢和较高的通量回收率 ( FRR)），表明使用进料垫片时其防污性能优于 PES 膜。总体而言，表面图案膜的简单制造技术、较高的渗透性和优异的防污性能使其适合潜在地取代间隔辅助过滤过程中使用的当前配置。