Removal characteristics of dissolved organic matter and membrane fouling in ultrafiltration and reverse osmosis membrane combined processes treating the secondary effluent of wastewater treatment plant

Jianwei Liu; Mengfei Zhao; Cui Duan; Peng Yue; Tinggang Li

doi:10.2166/wst.2020.589

Water Science and Technology (Feb 2021)

Removal characteristics of dissolved organic matter and membrane fouling in ultrafiltration and reverse osmosis membrane combined processes treating the secondary effluent of wastewater treatment plant

Jianwei Liu,
Mengfei Zhao,
Cui Duan,
Peng Yue,
Tinggang Li

Affiliations

Jianwei Liu: Beijing Engineering Research Center of Sustainable Urban Sewage System Construction and Risk Control, Beijing University of Civil Engineering and Architecture, Beijing 100044, China and Key Laboratory of Urban Stormwater System and Water Environment, Ministry of Education, Beijing University of Civil Engineering and Architecture, Beijing 100044, China
Mengfei Zhao: Beijing Engineering Research Center of Sustainable Urban Sewage System Construction and Risk Control, Beijing University of Civil Engineering and Architecture, Beijing 100044, China and Key Laboratory of Urban Stormwater System and Water Environment, Ministry of Education, Beijing University of Civil Engineering and Architecture, Beijing 100044, China
Cui Duan: Beijing Engineering Research Center of Sustainable Urban Sewage System Construction and Risk Control, Beijing University of Civil Engineering and Architecture, Beijing 100044, China and Key Laboratory of Urban Stormwater System and Water Environment, Ministry of Education, Beijing University of Civil Engineering and Architecture, Beijing 100044, China
Peng Yue: Beijing Engineering Research Center of Sustainable Urban Sewage System Construction and Risk Control, Beijing University of Civil Engineering and Architecture, Beijing 100044, China and Key Laboratory of Urban Stormwater System and Water Environment, Ministry of Education, Beijing University of Civil Engineering and Architecture, Beijing 100044, China
Tinggang Li: Innovation Academy for Green Manufacture, CAS Key Laboratory of Green Process and Engineering, Institute of Process Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2166/wst.2020.589
Journal volume & issue: Vol. 83, no. 3
pp. 689 – 700

Abstract

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The widespread implementation of municipal wastewater treatment and reuse must first ensure the safety of reused wastewater. The effluent of the municipal wastewater treatment plant contains a large amount of dissolved organic matter (DOM), which adversely affects the reuse of wastewater. In this study, the ultrafiltration (UF) + reverse osmosis (RO) process was used to treat the secondary effluent from wastewater treatment plants. The relationship between the removal performance, membrane fouling of the UF + RO process, and DOM removal characteristics of influent were studied. The results show that DOM can be removed effectively by UF + RO process. The UF mainly removes DOM with a molecular weight greater than 10 kDa, while RO has a significant removal effect on low-molecular-weight DOM, which mainly causes UF and RO membrane fouling. The UF + RO process has a significant removal rate on fulvic acid, humic acid, tyrosine, and tryptophan, and the order is humic acid > fulvic acid > tyrosine > tryptophan. Fulvic acid contributed the most to the UF membrane fouling, while fulvic acid and protein-like proteins contributed mainly to the RO membrane fouling.

Published in Water Science and Technology

ISSN: 0273-1223 (Print); 1996-9732 (Online)
Publisher: IWA Publishing
Country of publisher: United Kingdom
LCC subjects: Technology: Environmental technology. Sanitary engineering
Website: https://iwaponline.com/wst

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