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Effects of Total Suspended Solids Loading on Short‐Term Fouling in the Treatment of Secondary Effluent by an Immersed Ultrafiltration Pilot System
Author(s) -
Citulski Joel A.,
Farahbakhsh Khosrow,
Kent Fraser C.
Publication year - 2009
Publication title -
water environment research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.356
H-Index - 73
eISSN - 1554-7531
pISSN - 1061-4303
DOI - 10.2175/106143009x426022
Subject(s) - ultrafiltration (renal) , effluent , fouling , suspended solids , environmental science , environmental engineering , chemistry , waste management , chromatography , wastewater , engineering , membrane , biochemistry
This study examined the performance of a pilot‐scale immersed ultrafiltration system using secondary effluent as a feed source, with particular emphasis on the role played by total suspended solids (TSS) on short‐term fouling rates within permeation cycles. Key secondary effluent quality characteristics, such as ionic composition and total/colloidal organic carbon content, remained reasonably stable during the course of the study. However, TSS loads in the secondary effluent were correlated with the extent of within‐cycle fouling. This relationship existed irrespective of membrane packing density or the operating flux, although the latter parameter did control the rate at which within‐cycle fouling occurred. Although the complex causes of ultrafiltration membrane fouling during tertiary treatment over the long term remain poorly understood, TSS levels in the feed may offer a simple means of better predicting within‐cycle spikes in transmembrane pressure. Based on historical and seasonal trends, or both, of TSS loads in the secondary clarifiers of a given wastewater treatment plant, periods requiring an increased frequency of backpulses or recovery cleanings may be identified before implementation of full‐scale tertiary ultrafiltration systems.