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

Water Sci Technol. 2021 Feb;83(3):689-700. doi: 10.2166/wst.2020.589.

Abstract

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.

MeSH terms

  • Filtration
  • Membranes, Artificial
  • Osmosis
  • Ultrafiltration*
  • Wastewater
  • Water Purification*

Substances

  • Membranes, Artificial
  • Waste Water