Evolution of Pretreatment Methods for Nanofiltration Membrane Used for Dissolved Organic Matter Removal in Raw Water Supply

Abstract

Coagulation and microfiltration using polyaluminium chloride (PACl) were investigated as a pretreatment process by nanofiltration to reduce dissolved organic matter in both raw water and treated water at water treatment plants. The dissolved organic matter in the raw water supply may be a precursor of carcinogens produced during the disinfection process. Raw water from pumping stations and treated water from Hat Yai Provincial Waterworks Authority, Songkhla Province, Thailand were used as samples for this study. Fractionation of raw water samples by DAX-8 and XAD-4 resin revealed that they contained hydrophilic, transphilic and hydrophobic groups with hydrophilic the major organic component. PACl coagulation resulted in a higher dissolved organic matter removal than microfiltration techniques. A hybrid coagulation-nanofiltration process was studied. This effectively reduced dissolved organic matter as dissolved organic carbon and UV-254 by 86% and 94% respectively. The hybrid coagulation-nanofiltration process reduced dissolved organic carbons of the hydrophobic group more effectively than the hydrophilic group. Chloroform and bromodichloroform were the two major species of the trihalomethane group produced when raw water reacted with chlorine. The hybrid coagulation-nanofiltration process reduced the trihalomethane formation potential (THMFP) in raw water samples by up to 90%

Keywords

• water supply
• coagulation
• dissolved organic matter
• microfiltration
• nanofiltation