Performance evaluation of pretreatment processes in integrated membrane system for wastewater reuse

A series of lab-scale filtration experiments were performed under various operating conditions to investigate the fouling behavior of microfiltration (MF) membranes when employing two different pretreatment methods. The secondary effluents from a biologically advanced treatment process were fed to each hybrid system, consisting of coagulation-flocculation-MF (CF-MF) and ozonation-MF processes. All experiments were carried out using a stirred-cell system, which consisted of polyvinylidene difluoride (PVDF) MF membranes with a 0.22 μm pore size. When MF membrane was used alone without any pretreatment, the permeate flux dropped significantly. However, in the case of employing polyaluminium chloride (PACl) coagulation and ozonation as a pretreatment, the extent of flux decline rates was enhanced up to 88 and 38%, respectively. In the CF-MF hybrid system, the removal efficiencies of COD and total phosphorus were significantly enhanced at a coagulant dose above 30 mg/L. With ozonation, more than 90% of the color was removed even at a low dosage of ozone (5 mg/L). Therefore, ozonation would be strongly recommended as a pretreatment in terms of removing organic matter. The permeate water quality by ozonation-MF process was in good compliance with the guidelines for wastewater reuse proposed by South Korean Ministry of Environment.