Project Title: Production of Biocatalytic Membranes for the Control of Biofouling in Reverse Osmosis Membranes
Funding Agency: TUBİTAK 1001-122M390
Project Coordinator: Asst. Prof. Dr. BAHAR YAVUZTÜRK GÜL (İstanbul Teknik Üniversitesi)
Investigators: Prof. Dr. NEVİN GÜL-KARAGÜLER
Araş Gör. HANDE MUMCU
Araş Gör. ENİSE PEKGENÇ (İstanbul Teknik Üniversitesi)
Advisor: Prof. Dr. İSMAİL KOYUNCU
Prof. Dr. VAHID VATANPOUR SARGHEIN
Prof. Dr. MUSTAFA EVREN ERŞAHİN
Doç Dr. BÖRTE KÖSE MUTLU
Dr. Öğr. Üyesi ABDULHALİM KILIÇ (İstanbul Teknik Üniversitesi)

Project Topic: The completed project successfully addressed, in an innovative and interdisciplinary manner, the TÜBİTAK Priority R&D and Innovation Topic under the European Green Deal Adaptation Framework, specifically Climate Change, Environment, and Biodiversity, by fulfilling the objective of developing and producing “self-cleaning membrane filters” for desalination plants aimed at obtaining drinking water from seawater using energy-efficient methods without harming the ecosystem or marine environments. To this end, anti-fouling biocatalytic membranes were produced, and novel materials and processes were developed. Within the scope of the project, graphene oxide (GO)-incorporated thin-film composite reverse osmosis (TFC-RO) biocatalytic membranes were fabricated for the first time, and their anti-fouling potential was demonstrated.To achieve the goals proposed in the project, lactonase enzyme was purified from the quorum-quenching (QQ) bacterium Bacillus sp. T5, previously isolated from the Marmara Sea under the TÜBİTAK-NRF Joint Project No. 114Y706. The lactonase enzyme was immobilized onto TFC-RO membranes produced via interfacial polymerization. Additionally, to evaluate the effect of nanoparticles on enzyme immobilization efficiency, lactonase was immobilized onto GO-incorporated membranes and compared with immobilization performed on pristine membranes. The produced biocatalytic membranes were characterized using various physicochemical analytical techniques and advanced imaging methods, and their enzyme activity and stability were determined. The structure of the biofilm formed on the membrane surfaces was analyzed. After the fabrication and characterization of the biocatalytic membranes, their anti-biofouling performance was evaluated in laboratory-scale systems. Owing to these innovative bioactive membranes, a significant reduction in biological fouling was achieved, leading to enhanced membrane performance and stability. This improvement also translated into an extended membrane lifespan, thereby reducing the operational costs of the membrane system.In this completed project, lactonase-immobilized TFC-RO membranes were produced for the first time in the literature to address the biofouling problem in RO membranes. Scaling up the laboratory-scale biocatalytic membranes developed here constitutes our major future objective. Additionally, the project provides substantial value in terms of identifying and utilizing microbial enzyme resources within our country.As outcomes of the project, one PhD thesis and one MSc thesis were successfully completed. Two research articles and one review article have been prepared for submission to journals indexed in the SCI-Expanded (SCIE). Furthermore, two separate patent applications have been filed for the lactonase enzyme and the biocatalytic TFC-RO and GO-TFC-RO membranes developed within the project. A workshop titled “Biofouling in Membrane Systems” was successfully organized, ensuring dissemination and outreach of the project results.