The effect of coupling coagulation and flocculation with membrane filtration in water treatment:A review

Water supply and sanitation demands are foreseen to face enormous challenges over the coming decades to meet the fast growing needs in a global perspective. Significant growth in the industry is predicted and membrane separation technologies have been identified as one of the possible solutions to meet future demands. Application and implementation of membrane technology is expected both in production of potable water as well as in treatment of wastewater. In potable water production membranes are substituting conventional separation technologies due to the superior performance, potential for less chemical use and sludge production, as well as the potential to fulfill hygienic barrier requirements. Membrane bio-reactor （MBR） technology is probably the membrane process which has had most success and has the best prospects for the future in wastewater treatment. Trends and developments indicate that this technology is becoming accepted and is rapidly becoming the best available technology for many wastewater treatment applications. A major drawback of MBR systems is membrane fouling. Studies have shown that fouling mitigation in MBR systems can potentially be done by coupling coagulation and flocculation to the process.

Evaluation of media for simultaneous enumeration of total coliform and Escherichia coli in drinking water supplies by membrane filtration techniques

This study evaluated three different dehydrated media for simultaneous detection and enumeration of total coliform （TC） and Escherichia coil in drinking water samples with a standard membrane filtration procedure. The experiment indicated that the differential coliform agar （DCA） medium was the most effective among the tested media in enumerating TC and E. coil, without the need for extensive accompanying confirmation tests. The results for DCA medium were highly reproducible for both TC and E. coil with standard deviation of 6.0 and 6.1, respectively. A high agreement （82%） was found between DCA and m-Endo media on 152 drinking water samples in terms of TC positive. The DCA medium also reduced concealment of background bacteria.

Electrochemical removal and recovery of phosphorus from wastewater using cathodic membrane filtration reactor

Removal and recovery of phosphorus(P) from wastewater is of great importance to addressing the challenges of eutrophication and phosphorus shortage. The P removal and recovery performance of conventional electrochemical precipitation approach was constrained by the limited mass transfer rate. Herein,a cathodic membrane filtration(CMF) reactor was developed using Ti/SnO_(2)-Sb anode and titanium mesh cathodic membrane module to achieve efficient removal and recovery of P in wastewater. Compared with the flow-by mode, the CMF system in the flow-through mode exhibited excellent P removal performance due to the markedly enhanced mass transfer. At the current density of 4 A/m^(2), membrane flux of 16.6 L m^(-2)h^(-1), and Ca/P molar ratio of 1.67, the removal efficiency of P was 96.2% and the energy consumption was only 45.7 k Wh/kg P. The local high p H of cathode surface played a vital role in P removal,which substantially accelerated the nucleation of calcium phosphate(Ca P). Based on the crystalline and morphological characterization of the precipitates, the hydroxyapatite was the most stable crystalline phase of Ca P, which was transformed from intermediate phases(such as dicalcium phosphate and amorphous calcium phosphate). This study paves the way for applying electrochemical membrane filtration system for P removal and recovery from wastewater.

Membrane fouling controlled by coagulation/adsorption during direct sewage membrane filtration(DSMF) for organic matter concentration

Unlike the role of the membrane in a membrane bioreactor, which is designed to replace a sediment tank, direct sewage membrane filtration（DSMF）, with the goal of concentrating organic matters, is proposed as a pretreatment process in a novel sewage treatment concept. The concept of membrane-based pretreatment is proposed to divide raw sewage into a concentrated part retaining most organics and a filtered part with less pollutant remaining, so that energy recovery and water reuse, respectively, could be realized by post-treatment. A pilot-scale experiment was carried out to verify the feasibility of coagulant/adsorbent addition for membrane fouling control, which has been the main issue during this DSMF process. The results showed that continuous coagulant addition successfully slowed down the increase in filtration resistance, with the resistance maintained below 1.0 × 1013m^（-1） in the first 70 hr before a jump occurred. Furthermore,the adsorbent addition contributed to retarding the occurrence of the filtration resistance jump, achieving simultaneous fouling control and chemical oxygen demand（COD）concentration improvement. The final concentrated COD amounted to 7500 mg/L after 6 days of operation.

Transfer and transport of aluminum in filtration unit

Aluminum salt coagulants were used prevalently in various water works. In this article, the effects of filtration on residual aluminum concentration and species distribution were researched by determining the concentration of different aluminum species before and after single layer filter, double layer filter, and membrane filtration units. In the research, size exclusion chromatography （SEC） was used to separate colloidal and soluble aluminum, ion exchange chromatography （IEC） was used to separate organic and inorganic aluminum, and inductivity coupled plasma-atomic emission spectrometry （ICP-AES） was used to determine the aluminum concentration. The results showed that the rapid filtration process had the ability of removing residual aluminum from coagulant effluent water, and that double layer filtration was more effective in residual aluminum removal than single layer filtration, while nano filtration was more effective than micro filtration. It was found that when the residual aluminum concentration was below lmg/L in sediment effluent, the residual aluminum concentration in treated water was above 0.2 mg/L. The direct rapid filtration process mainly removed the suspended aluminum. The removal of soluble and colloidal aluminum was always less than 10% and the natural small particles that adsorbed the amount of soluble or small particles aluminum on their surface were difficult to be removed in this process. Micro filtration and nano filtration were good technologies for removing aluminum; the residual aluminum concentration in the effluent was less than 0.05 mg/L.

Ba^(2+)/Ca^(2+)co-crosslinked alginate hydrogel filtration membrane with high strength,high flux and stability for dye/salt separation

Alginate is a natural polysaccharide polymer.Hydrogel filtration membranes prepared from alginate show excellent fouling resistance and controllable separation performance,but poor mechanical properties limit the use of algae hydrogels.In this study,Ba^(2+)/Ca^(2+)co-crosslinked alginate(Ba/CaAlg)hydrogel membrane was prepared by cross-linking sodium alginate with a blend aqueous solution of barium ions and calcium ions,and the membrane was applied to the separation of dyes/salts from dyeing wastewater.Compared with the CaAlg membrane,the Ba/CaAlg hydrogel membrane exhibited more stable structure,and the mechanical properties and salt tolerance of the membrane were significantly improved.The flux of Ba/CaAlg membrane for methyl blue/sodium chloride mixed solution reached 43.5 L m^(−2) h^(−1),which was significantly higher than that of CaAlg membrane.Besides,the Ba/CaAlg membrane showed higher dye rejection(>99.6%)and lower salt rejection(<8.2%).The structure of Ba/CaAlg membrane was preliminarily simulated by molecular dynamics,and the pore size and distribution of the membrane were calculated.The Ba/CaAlg membrane has a broad application prospect in dyes/salts separation.

Microfiltration,ultrafiltration and nanofiltration as a post-treatment of biological treatment process with references to oil field produced water of Moran oilfield of Assam

The selection of an apt technology for the treatment of Oilfield Produced Water(OFPW)depends mainly on the quality of OFPW and methods of pre-and post-treatment processes.The most challenging part of the OFPW treatment process is the removal of Suspended Solid(SS),Oil&Grease(O&G)and dissolved organics.SS and O&G pose an acute problem to the membrane filtration system by fouling the membrane surface which increases operation&maintenance costs and decreases the life of the membrane.Fouling of the membrane surface is mainly attributed to the presence of low molecular weight aromatic compounds and naphthenic acids in the suspended and dissolved organic compounds.Thus,the removal of these suspended and dissolved organic compounds before membrane filtration proffers a challenge to the researchers.In this research,bioremediation process has been applied to remove the organic compounds and the performance and fouling behaviour of hollow fibre Microfiltration(MF),Ultrafiltration(UF)and Nanofiltration(NF)membranes after the bioremediation process has been analyzed in detail.The level of toxicity was determined by comparing the pollutants with the safe discharge limit for disposal into the environment set by Central Pollution Control Board(CPCB),India.The research presents its novelty by using a hydrocarbon-degrading bacteria,Pseudomonas aeruginosa for the Reduction of Organic Loads(ROL)from OFPW of Moran oil field of Upper Assam as a pre-treatment to membrane filtration.The Total Sum Corrected Area(TSCA)method through chromatographic analyses was used for this.The organic loads removal from OFPW by the TSCA method was found to be 67-100%,100%and 100%after 7,14 and 21 days of bioremediation respectively.The major parameters in feed OFPW of Moran oil field were found to be pH(7.5-9.3),Total Dissolved Solid(TDS)(1.79-4.75)ppt,O&G(1.78-2.8)ppt,Salinity(2.94-6.98)ppt,Chloride(Cl^(-))(1.6-3.86)ppt,Bicarbonate(HCO_(3)^(-))(2.89-4.03)ppt.It was observed that the ranges of pollutants removal by NF was highest such as TDS(26-86%),salinity(81-86%),turbidity(78-94%),hardness(67-75%),O&G(96-99%),Cl^(-)(80-89%)and HCO_(3)^(-)(95-97%).

Simulation and assessment of sludge concentration and rheology in the process of waste activated sludge treatment

The process of using flat-sheet membrane for simultaneous sludge thickening and digestion （MSTD） was employed. The variations of sludge concentration and rheology were characterized and simulated. Based on mass balance analysis, mathematical models were developed and successfully used to predict and evaluate the variations of sludge concentration and the digestion efficiency in the MSTD process. The apparent viscosity of sludge could be modeled as functions of mixed liquor suspended solids and shear rates. The sludge in the MSTD process showed both shear-thinning and viscoplastic behaviour, and under various shear rates different rheological models could be chosen to predict their flow behaviour. It was also found that sludge concentration and viscosity had significant correlations with membrane fouling in the MSTD process.

Upgrading Paper-grade Softwood Kraft Pulp to Dissolving Pulp by Cold Caustic Extraction

Cold caustic extraction has potential applications in the production of dissolving-grade pulps due to its ability to selectively remove hemicellulose from lignocellulosic materials. In this study,we demonstrate the conversion of paper-grade kraft pulp into dissolving pulp by a single-stage cold caustic extraction. Under the extraction conditions of 12 wt% NaOH lye,11% pulp consistency,a temperature of 35℃,and 2 h,a paper-grade softwood kraft pulp was purified to high-grade dissolving pulp with 97. 1% α-cellulose content,1. 2% pentosane content,and narrowed molecular weight distribution. The resulting extraction filtrate was concentrated by nano-filtration to obtain the hemicellulose content of 59. 0 g / L,while the permeate was a clear Na OH solution with 10. 9 wt% concentration. A process configuration was also proposed,integrating this cold caustic extraction process with existing pulp and paper production and multi-purpose utilization of the extraction filtrate.

Microbial Analysis of Drinking Water from Randomly Selected Boreholes and Shallow Wells around Hargeisa, Somaliland

Background: Shallow wells and boreholes are vital sources of potable water in Hargeisa. This water can be polluted by runoff, in particular during the rainy season, causing outbreaks of waterborne infections. Objectives: This research aimed at evaluating the microbial quality of shallow wells and boreholes water around Hargeisa, Somaliland. Methods: The total coliform and Escherichia coli count were done by using the membrane filtration method. Overall, 100 ml of each water sample was filtered via a 0.45 μm membrane filter, and then the filters were put on m-Endo agar plates that were incubated at 37°C for 24 to 48 hours. Results: The mean value of total coliform counts for the boreholes and shallow wells ranged from 1.288 × 103 to 8.8 × 103 CFU/100ml, while the mean value of total E. coli counts also ranged from 3.5 × 102 to 4.429 × 103 CFU/100ml. Results from this study have demonstrated that all water sources (Arabsiyo, Dararweyne, Darasalaam, Dabaraqas, and Jaleelo) don’t comply with the WHO guideline for drinking water. Results from the analysis of water samples of 28 wells demonstrated a significant correlation between total coliform and E. coli counts (P = 0.01). Therefore, this water is not fit for human consumption unless it is treated. Conclusion: This study has demonstrated that all results of both mean values of total coliform and E. coli counts from groundwater of selected shallow wells and boreholes were beyond WHO standards, so water from Arabsiyo, Jaleelo, Dabaraqas, Dararweyne, and Darasalaam requires treatment before human consumption.

Superhydrophilic membrane with photo-Fenton self-cleaning property for effective microalgae anti-fouling

Membrane filtration is one of the effective approaches to harvest microalgae for industrial biofuel production.However,during the filtration process,microalgae cells and extracellular organic matter(EOM)will deposit on the membrane surface leading to reversible membrane fouling that can be removed by physical methods.When hydrophobic EOM is adsorbed on the membrane surface or inside pores,it will build up a gel layer,causing irreversible membrane fouling.Irreversible fouling can only be removed using chemical methods that will decrease membrane lifespan and increase operational costs.Here,we introduce a versatile superhydrophilic membrane with photo-Fenton self-cleaning property,which can prevent the reversible fouling and remove the irreversible fouling.Tannic acid(TA)and 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane(APTES)were co-deposited on the polyvinylidene fluoride(PVDF)membrane via Schiff base and Michael addition reactions,andβ-FeOOH nanorods were inlaid on the membrane surface by in situ mineralization.The water contact angle of the modified membrane is reduced from 120°to 0°Under 60 min visible light,the hydroxyl radical(·OH)generated by the photo-Fenton reaction degraded the irreversible fouling that blocked membrane pores.The irreversible fouling rates of modified membrane was reduced from 39.57%to 3.26%,compared with the original membrane.Microalgae harvesting results illustrated that the membrane has a high flux recovery rate(FRR)of 98.2%,showed excellent passive antifouling and active antifouling performance.We believe this work will spark a novel platform for optimizing energy-efficient microalgae harvesting separation membrane modules.In addition,this method of anti-fouling filtration for microorganisms can be extended to the industrial production of various bioenergy sources and will have very promising practical applications.

Simple fabrication of Cu^(2+)doped calcium alginate hydrogel filtration membrane with excellent anti-fouling and antibacterial properties

Herein,copper ion doped calcium alginate(Cu^(2+)/CaAlg)composite hydrogel filtration membranes were prepared by using natural polymer sodium alginate(NaAlg)as raw material.The thermal stability and structure of the composite membranes were characterized by thermogravimetric analysis and infrared spectroscopy.The mechanical strength,anti-fouling performance,hydrophilicity and filtration performance of the membrane were studied.The results show that Cu^(2+)/CaAlg hydrogel membrane has excelle nt mechanical properties and thermal stability.The anti-swelling ability of the membrane was greatly enhanced by doping Cu^(2+).After three alternate filtration cycles,the flux recovery rate of Cu^(2+)/CaAlg hydrogel membrane can still reach 85%,indicating that the membrane has good antipollution performance.When the operation pressure was 0.1 MPa,the rejection of coomassie brilliant blue G250 reached 99.8%with a flux of 46.3 L m^(-2)h^(-1),while the Na_(2)SO_(4) rejection was less than 10.0%.The Cu^(2+)/CaAlg membrane was recycled after 24 h in the filtration process,and its flux and rejection rate did not decrease significantly,indicating that the hydrogel membrane has long-term application potential.The Cu^(2+)/CaAlg membrane has a wide range of applications prospect in dye desalination,fine separation and biopharmaceutical technology fields.

The variation of DOM during long distance water transport by the China South to North Water Diversion Scheme and impact on drinking water treatment

In this study,samples were taken from three locations,upstream to downstream,along the central route project of the China South to North Water Diversion(SNWD)scheme in summer and winter.These were used to reveal the variations of dissolved organic matter(DOM)during the water transfer process,and the effects of these variations on drinking water treatment and disinfection by-products formation potential(DBPs-FP).The results showed that polysaccharides accumulate in summer and reduce in winter with flow distance,which has an important effect on the overall properties of DOM,as well as on the performance of coagulation,ultrafiltration,and the formation of DBPs.Humic substances,and their hydrophilic content,also increased in summer and decreased in winter with flow distance.In contrast,the concentration of small organic substances(MW⩽1000 Da)increased in both summer and winter with flow distance,which affected both nanofiltration(NF)membrane fouling and DBPs-FP.The results provide a useful case study of spatial and temporal changes in raw water DOM during long distance water transfer and their impact on the treatment and quality of drinking water from the SNWD.

A hybrid membrane process for simultaneous thickening and digestion of waste activated sludge

A hybrid membrane process for simultaneous sludge thickening and digestion(MSTD)was studied.During one cycle(15 d)of operation under a hydraulic retention time of 1 d,the concentration of mixed liquor suspended solids(MLSS)continuously increased from about 4 g·L^(–1)to 34 g·L^(–1),and the mixed liquor volatile suspended solids(MLVSS)increased from about 3 g·L^(–1)to over 22 g·L^(–1).About 42%of the MLVSS and 39%of the MLSS reduction were achieved.The thickening and digestion effects in the MSTD were further analyzed based on a mass balance analysis.Test results showed that biopolymers and cations of biomass were gradually released to the bulk solution during the process.It was also found that the capillary suction time,colloidal chemical oxygen demand,soluble microbial products,viscosity,and MLSS had significant positive correlations with the membrane fouling rate,whereas extracellular polymeric substances,polysaccharides,and proteins extracted from biomass had negative impacts on membrane fouling.

Ceramic membrane separation technique for washing nano-sized ceramic powder precursors

Washing using ceramic micro-filtration membranes was studied in the preparation of nano-sized TiO2 and A1203 powder precursors obtained by wet chemical methods. The key parameters for the washing process, such as operation pressure, cross-flow velocity, and slurry concentration, were examined and optimized. The shape and size of particles influenced the structure of the filter cake, leading to different permeation flux for different systems. The results demonstrated that washing using ceramic membranes is superior to the traditional plate-and-frame filtration and could be considered an advanced technique for ultra-fine powder preparation by wet-chemical method.

Oxalic acid cross-linked sodium alginate and carboxymethyl chitosan hydrogel membrane for separation of dye/NaCl at high NaCl concentration

Dye desalination is a challenge in the treatment of textile wastewater with high salt concentration. It is imperative to develop salt resistance membrane that is from sustainable materials to effectively treat dye/salt mixtures. And most polymer membrane materials are non-renewable petrochemical resources.In this paper, a green hydrogel membrane(CMCS-OA-Na Alg) was prepared by non-metallic ions of oxalic acid(OA) cross-linking of two natural macromolecules of sodium alginate(Na Alg) and carboxymethyl chitosan(CMCS). The membrane showed excellent anti-swelling at high salt concentration(swelling rate less than 8.0% in 10.0 wt% Na Cl solution) and good anti-fouling performance. The membrane exhibited a rejection higher than 95.0% for dyes(bright blue, direct black, direct red, and Congo red) and lower than7.0% for Na Cl, which can achieve better dye/Na Cl separation performance. This study provides a promising membrane material for high salt textile wastewater treatment only using water and carbohydrates as raw materials without any organic solvents.

Pre-oxidation enhanced cyanobacteria removal in drinking water treatment: A review

Cyanobacterial bloom has many adverse effects on source water quality and drinking water production. The traditional water treatment process can hardly achieve satisfactory removal of algae cells. This review examines the impact of pre-oxidation on the removal of cyanobacteria by solid-liquid separation processes. It was reported that the introduction of chemical oxidants such as chlorine, potassium permanganate, and ozone in algae-laden water pretreatment could improve algae removal by the subsequent solid-liquid separation processes. However, over dosed oxidants can result in more serious water quality risks due to significant algae cell lysis and undesirable intracellular organic matter release. It was suggested that moderate pre-oxidation may enhance the removal of cyanobacteria without damaging algae cells. In this article, effects of moderate pretreatment on the solid-liquid separation processes(sedimentation, dissolved air flotation, and membrane filtration) are reviewed.

Comparison of concentration methods for detection of hepatitis A virus in water samples

Hepatitis A virus is a pathogen associated with water pollution.Contaminated drinking water can cause hepatitis A outbreaks,lead to economic losses,and even threaten human lives.It is difficult to detect low levels of hepatitis A virus in water,so the virus must be concentrated in order to quantify it accurately.Here,we present a simple,rapid,efficient technique for the concentration and detection of hepatitis A virus in water.Our data showed that adding phosphate-buffered saline to the water,pre-filtering the water,and adding Trizol reagent directly to the filtration membrane can significantly improve concentration efficiency.Of three types of filtration membranes studied(mixed cellulose ester membrane,polyvinylidene fluoride membrane,and nylon membrane),the concentration efficiency using mixed cellulose ester membrane with a 0.1-μm pore size was the highest,reaching 92.62 ± 5.17%.This method was used to concentrate hepatitis A virus in water samples from Donghu Lake.Using SYBR Green real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction analysis,the detection sensitivity of this method reached 10~1 copies/μL and its concentration efficiency reached 79.45 ± 9.88%.