Pilot-scale investigation of drinking water ultrafiltration membrane fouling rates using advanced data analysis techniques.

A pilot-scale investigation of the performance of biofiltration as a pre-treatment to ultrafiltration for drinking water treatment was conducted between 2008 and 2010. The objective of this study was to further understand the fouling behaviour of ultrafiltration at pilot scale and assess the utility of different foulant monitoring tools. Various fractions of natural organic matter (NOM) and colloidal/particulate matter of raw water, biofilter effluents, and membrane permeate were characterized by employing two advanced NOM characterization techniques: liquid chromatography - organic carbon detection (LC-OCD) and fluorescence excitation-emission matrices (FEEM) combined with principal component analysis (PCA).

Occurrence, source, and fate of dissolved organic matter (DOM) in a pilot-scale membrane bioreactor.

In this study, the fate of carbohydrates, proteins, and humic substances in feedwater, sludge supernatant, and permeate of a pilot-scale membrane bioreactor (MBR) was investigated. Over 10 months, carbohydrates were observed to have a lower bioelimination degree (45%) and higher rejection degree (79%) than those of proteins (81% and 44%, respectively), which led to a high carbohydrate/protein ratio of dissolved organic matter (DOM) in sludge supernatant. The batch tests showed that DOM derived from feedwater and bound extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) was eliminated by activated sludge via biosorption and biodegradation.