Effects of a Novel Adsorbent on Membrane Fouling by Natural Organic Matter in Drinking Water Treatment

Abstract

Irreversible fouling of water filtration membranes reduces filter longevity and results in higher costs associated with membrane maintenance and premature replacement. The search for effective pretreatment methods to remove foulants that tend to irreversibly foul membranes is ongoing. In this study, a novel adsorbent (Heated Aluminum Oxide Particles (HAOPs)) was deployed in a fully automated pilot system to remove natural organic matter (NOM) from the surface water source used at the UniVann water treatment plant (WTP) in Ullensaker County, Norway. The pilot plant treatment process consists of passing the water through a thin layer of HAOPs that has been deposited on a mesh support. The HAOPs layer acts as an active packed bed which removes NOM from the water. Fluxes around 120 L/m2/h (LMH) at transmembrane pressure (TMP) below 10.7 psi (0.7 bar) were achieved over production cycles excessing 12 h. Treatment achieved always >85% colour removal and effluent colour <5 mg Pt/L (the target of treatment), and always <0.01 NTU turbidity and non-detectable suspended solids in the permeate. The HAOPs mixture after saturated with NOM is easy to remove by disruption of the HAOPs by rinsing the mesh surface, and the sludge is easily dewatered to higher of dry solids content.

Membrane Technologies in Wastewater Treatment: A Review

“…There is also the combination of coagulation/flocculation and adsorption as pretreatment methods for membrane processes. This is to further enhance the removal of dissolved and colloidal substances from feed wastewater as proved by [163][164][165][166][167][168].…”

Adsorption of Natural Organic Matter and Phosphorus from Surface Water Using Heated Aluminum Oxide (Predeposited) Dynamic Membrane Adsorber

“…Ersahin et al also outlined that a DM layer plays an important role in organic matter removal [18]. Benjamin's research group developed a hybrid adsorbent/membrane process comprising a pre-treatment step, in which water was passed through a pre-deposited layer of HAOPs (heated aluminum oxide particles), followed by a conventional membrane filtration [1,[19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30]. That process was applied for the first time by Kim et al (2007) [23].…”

“…HAOPs have been synthesized in order to remove major foulants, such as natural organic matter (NOM), from surface water and also to mitigate the fouling of the downstream membrane. As such, they are adsorbents that combine adsorption and granular media filtration [19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30].…”

“…Anantharaman et al (2020) reported that the implementation of a DM composed of HAOPs protects the membrane the DM has been deposited on [1]. Additionally, they reported that HAOPs could be used as a coating layer on a porous surface such as ultrafiltration membranes and proved to be efficient in removal of NOM compounds from water [19][20][21][22][25][26][27][28][29].…”

The Function of Adsorption, Photo-Oxidation, and Humic Acid Using Air Backwashing in Integrated Water Treatment of Multichannel Ceramic MF and PP Particles

“…Numerous defensive methods for inhibiting NOM fouling have been established and broadly verified, for instance, activated carbon adsorption, ion exchange, coagulation, oxidation, and adsorption [4]. A new adsorbent, such as heated aluminum oxide powder, was utilized in a completely automated pilot water treatment process to eliminate NOM in the surface water [5]. In this research, periodic air backwashing was achieved for reducing the membrane fouling.…”