Triboelectric negative air ion generators for efficient membrane fouling control

•TENG significantly improves membrane fouling in ceramic membrane filtration.•A roller-coupled rolling belt TENG with high stability and high electrical output.•The system effectively adjusts the dust migration pattern and morphology.•The system significantly reduces enterprise production costs. Effectively controlling membrane fouling is critically important for enhancing the lifespan of membrane materials and reducing operational costs. This paper introduces a novel approach to control the fouling of gas–solid separation ceramic membranes using a triboelectric negative air ion (NAI) generator. The triboelectric NAI generator mainly consists of a roller-coupled rolling belt triboelectric nanogenerator (RCB-TENG), a boosting circuit, and a NAI emission head module. The RCB-TENG is used to harness the waste kinetic energy in the circular pipeline, and the boosting circuit converts it into high-voltage electrical energy to drive the NAI generator. This study investigated the effects of membrane fouling control, revealing a significant reduction in membrane pressure drop rate by 51.2 % and a decrease in the rate of flux reduction by 78.1 % upon using a triboelectric NAI generator. The backwashing regeneration of the membrane was notably enhanced. The mechanism of membrane fouling control was investigated and it was found that the main control method was through regulating the charge, morphological evolution, and migration characteristics of moving particles. This strengthens the interception and capture on the membrane surface, weakens the inertial collision and diffusion capture effects within the membrane, thereby controlling membrane fouling. This study provides a new perspective for effectively controlling membrane fouling.