This study evaluated the anti-biofouling efficacy of capacitor mode and resistor mode in membrane distillation (MD). Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) membrane coated with carbon nanotube (CNT) was adopted as the electrically conductive membrane. The biofouling formation on the pre-treatment membrane was systematically analyzed, and the results showed that both operation modes had obvious inhabitation on bacteria, especially the capacitor mode exhibited stronger prevention capability on biomass accumulation than resistor mode. NMDs analysis of microbial communities further revealed that the anti-biofouling effect mainly occurred on the membrane surface, and gram-positive biomarkers which can survive better in external electric field was distinctively found in capacitor mode through LEfSE analysis. Hypothesis was introduced to explain the anti-fouling function of two modes that in the capacitor mode, the competitive electrostatic repulsion of bacteria cells on negative electrode associated by the cell-disruption effect of electro-catalyzed reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation, while the anti-fouling function of resistor mode was a result of temperature increment on membrane surface caused by Joule heating effects. This article attempts to provide an insight of anti-fouling mechanism of electric field applied in MD and to prove the feasibility of above-mentioned operation modes as non-chemical methods for optimization of membrane-based water treatment process.

这项研究评估了电容器模式和电阻器模式在膜蒸馏（MD）中的抗生物污垢功效。涂覆有碳纳米管（CNT）的聚四氟乙烯（PTFE）膜被用作导电膜。系统分析了预处理膜上的生物积垢形成情况，结果表明两种操作模式均对细菌有明显的居住，尤其是电容器模式对生物质积累的预防能力强于电阻模式。NMDs对微生物群落的分析进一步表明，抗生物结垢作用主要发生在膜表面，通过LEfSE分析，在电容器模式下可以明显地找到在外部电场中可以更好存活的革兰氏阳性生物标志物。引入假设来解释两种模式的防污功能：在电容器模式下，细菌细胞在负极上的竞争性静电排斥与电催化活性氧（ROS）产生的细胞破坏作用有关，而在电阻模式的防污功能是焦耳热效应导致膜表面温度升高的结果。本文试图提供一种在MD上应用的电场防污机理的见解，并证明上述操作模式作为非化学方法优化膜基水处理工艺的可行性。细菌细胞在负极上的竞争性静电排斥与电催化活性氧（ROS）产生的细胞破坏作用有关，而电阻模式的防污功能是焦耳在膜表面温度升高的结果加热效果。本文试图提供一种在MD上应用的电场防污机理的见解，并证明上述操作模式作为非化学方法优化膜基水处理工艺的可行性。细菌细胞在负极上的竞争性静电排斥与电催化活性氧（ROS）产生的细胞破坏作用有关，而电阻模式的防污功能是焦耳在膜表面温度升高的结果加热效果。本文试图提供一种在MD上应用的电场防污机理的见解，并证明上述操作模式作为非化学方法优化膜基水处理工艺的可行性。