Removal of Bacteria and Organic Carbon by an Integrated Ultrafiltration—Nanofiltration Desalination Pilot Plant
Fouling caused by organic matter and bacteria remains a significant challenge for the membrane-based desalination industry. Fouling decreases the permeate quality and membrane performance and also increases energy demands. Here, we quantified the amount of organic matter and bacteria at several stag...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2020-09-01
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| Series: | Membranes |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0375/10/9/223 |
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| author | Zahid Ur Rehman Bayan Khojah TorOve Leiknes Safiya Alsogair Mona Alsomali |
| author_facet | Zahid Ur Rehman Bayan Khojah TorOve Leiknes Safiya Alsogair Mona Alsomali |
| author_sort | Zahid Ur Rehman |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Fouling caused by organic matter and bacteria remains a significant challenge for the membrane-based desalination industry. Fouling decreases the permeate quality and membrane performance and also increases energy demands. Here, we quantified the amount of organic matter and bacteria at several stages along the water-treatment train of an integrated ultrafiltration–nanofiltration seawater treatment pilot plant. We quantified the organic matter, in terms of Total Organic Carbon (TOC) and Assimilable Organic Carbon (AOC), and evaluated its composition using Liquid Chromatography for Organic Carbon Detection (LC-OCD). The bacterial cells were counted using Bactiquant. We found that ultrafiltration (UF) was effective at removing bacterial cells (99.7%) but not TOC. By contrast, nanofiltration (NF) successfully removed both TOC (95%) and bacterial cells. However, the NF permeate showed higher amounts of AOC than seawater. LC-OCD analysis suggested that the AOC was mostly composed of low molecular weight neutral substances. Furthermore, we found that the cleaning of the UF membrane using chemically enhanced backwash reduced the amount of AOC released into the UF permeate. By implementing the cleaning-in-place of the NF membrane, the pressure drop was restored to the normal level. Our results show that the UF and NF membrane cleaning regimes investigated in this study improved membrane performance. However, AOC remained the hardest-to-treat fraction of organic carbon. AOC should, therefore, be monitored closely and regularly to mitigate biofouling in downstream processes. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T16:34:37Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-202a2dbc96ca4287b674a4fe86f949bc |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2077-0375 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T16:34:37Z |
| publishDate | 2020-09-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Membranes |
| spelling | doaj.art-202a2dbc96ca4287b674a4fe86f949bc2023-11-20T12:32:21ZengMDPI AGMembranes2077-03752020-09-0110922310.3390/membranes10090223Removal of Bacteria and Organic Carbon by an Integrated Ultrafiltration—Nanofiltration Desalination Pilot PlantZahid Ur Rehman0Bayan Khojah1TorOve Leiknes2Safiya Alsogair3Mona Alsomali4Water Desalination and Reuse Center (WDRC), King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal 23955-6900, Saudi ArabiaWater Desalination and Reuse Center (WDRC), King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal 23955-6900, Saudi ArabiaWater Desalination and Reuse Center (WDRC), King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal 23955-6900, Saudi ArabiaDuPont Water Solutions, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal 23955-6900, Saudi ArabiaDow Middle East Innovation Center (MEIC), King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal 23955-6900, Saudi ArabiaFouling caused by organic matter and bacteria remains a significant challenge for the membrane-based desalination industry. Fouling decreases the permeate quality and membrane performance and also increases energy demands. Here, we quantified the amount of organic matter and bacteria at several stages along the water-treatment train of an integrated ultrafiltration–nanofiltration seawater treatment pilot plant. We quantified the organic matter, in terms of Total Organic Carbon (TOC) and Assimilable Organic Carbon (AOC), and evaluated its composition using Liquid Chromatography for Organic Carbon Detection (LC-OCD). The bacterial cells were counted using Bactiquant. We found that ultrafiltration (UF) was effective at removing bacterial cells (99.7%) but not TOC. By contrast, nanofiltration (NF) successfully removed both TOC (95%) and bacterial cells. However, the NF permeate showed higher amounts of AOC than seawater. LC-OCD analysis suggested that the AOC was mostly composed of low molecular weight neutral substances. Furthermore, we found that the cleaning of the UF membrane using chemically enhanced backwash reduced the amount of AOC released into the UF permeate. By implementing the cleaning-in-place of the NF membrane, the pressure drop was restored to the normal level. Our results show that the UF and NF membrane cleaning regimes investigated in this study improved membrane performance. However, AOC remained the hardest-to-treat fraction of organic carbon. AOC should, therefore, be monitored closely and regularly to mitigate biofouling in downstream processes.https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0375/10/9/223ultrafiltrationnanofiltrationassimilable organic carbonbiofoulingmembrane cleaning |
| spellingShingle | Zahid Ur Rehman Bayan Khojah TorOve Leiknes Safiya Alsogair Mona Alsomali Removal of Bacteria and Organic Carbon by an Integrated Ultrafiltration—Nanofiltration Desalination Pilot Plant Membranes ultrafiltration nanofiltration assimilable organic carbon biofouling membrane cleaning |
| title | Removal of Bacteria and Organic Carbon by an Integrated Ultrafiltration—Nanofiltration Desalination Pilot Plant |
| title_full | Removal of Bacteria and Organic Carbon by an Integrated Ultrafiltration—Nanofiltration Desalination Pilot Plant |
| title_fullStr | Removal of Bacteria and Organic Carbon by an Integrated Ultrafiltration—Nanofiltration Desalination Pilot Plant |
| title_full_unstemmed | Removal of Bacteria and Organic Carbon by an Integrated Ultrafiltration—Nanofiltration Desalination Pilot Plant |
| title_short | Removal of Bacteria and Organic Carbon by an Integrated Ultrafiltration—Nanofiltration Desalination Pilot Plant |
| title_sort | removal of bacteria and organic carbon by an integrated ultrafiltration nanofiltration desalination pilot plant |
| topic | ultrafiltration nanofiltration assimilable organic carbon biofouling membrane cleaning |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0375/10/9/223 |
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