The performance of the cleaning solution on PVDF/LiCl membranes in harvesting microalgae Dunaliella salina

Dunaliella salina is an example of microalgae. The microalgae Dunaliella salina has a halotolerant ability to live in a high salt environment. Besides, this type of microalgae can be used as a source of bioethanol because it has a high carbohydrate content of 69.7%. Microalgae harvesting techniques can be chosen as an alternative for harvesting microalgae because they have advantages, including being able to maintain up to 100% biomass and low energy consumption. The membrane filtration technique has the disadvantage that there is a blockage in the membrane during the harvesting process. In this study, membrane cleaning was carried out through a process of immersion into cleaning reagents, namely sodium hypochlorite (NaClO) and citric acid. The membranes before cleaning and the membranes after five cycles of cleaning were characterized using a Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM). The results showed that the membrane cleaning with sodium hypochlorite (NaClO) was more effective than cleaning with citric acid.