Fouling assessment of tertiary palm oil mill effluent (POME) membrane treatment for water reclamation

In order to minimize the adverse impacts of palm oil mill effluent (POME) towards the environment and to cope with the stress associated with water scarcity, membrane technology has been employed to reclaim water from POME. This study investigated the performance and fouling propensity of membranes in treating tertiary POME with the aim to recycle and reuse the reclaimed water as boiler feed water. Three types of membranes (NF270, BW30, and XLE) were used and their performances were evaluated based on the removal of chemical oxygen demand (COD), color, turbidity, total dissolved solid, phosphorus, and conductivity. All parameters were significantly reduced through XLE and BW30 membrane filtration processes in which the permeate was complied with the boiler feed water standard, except NF270 membrane where the COD value exceeded the allowable limit. High permeation drag of NF270 and rougher surface of XLE membranes resulted in the accumulation of foulant on the membrane surfaces which eventually reduced the permeate flux, whereas BW30 membrane was encountered for lower fouling propensity due to its low permeation rate. Hence, BW30 was deemed as the best candidate for water reclamation due to its low fouling propensity and because the production of permeate complied with boiler feed water standard.