Performance of an integrated process combining ozonation with ceramic membrane ultra-filtration for advanced treatment of drinking water

An integrated process including coagulation, zonation, ceramic membrane ultra-filtration and activated carbon filtration was investigated for the treatment of drinking water from the micro-polluted surface water in the southern China. A pilot-scale plant with the capacity of 120 m(3)/d was set up and operated. Submerged flat-sheet ceramic membranes were selected with the average pore diameter of 60 nm and the filtration area of 50 m(2). Quite a number of water quality parameters were evaluated including turbidity, particle counts, coliform bacteria, Cryptosporidium and Giardia cysts, dissolved organic carbon (DOC), ammonia, geosmin, 2-methylisoborneol (2-MIB), 4 trihalomethanes, 6 haloacetic acids, 8 endocrine disrupting compounds (EDCs) and 14 pharmaceutical and personal care products (PPCPs). The experimental results showed that the removal efficiencies of all the evaluated parameters ranged from 64% to 100%. The ozonation in membrane tank is very helpful both in enhancing the performance of removing multiple contaminants and in controlling the membrane fouling with ozone dosage of 2-5 mg/L at the permeate flux of 100 L/m(2).h. The innovation of the integrated process was discussed based on the concept of nano-reactor to probe into the reaction activities inside the membrane pores. However, the detailed mechanisms need to be explored in the future. Crown Copyright (C) 2013 Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.