COMPARISON OF POLYMERIC AND CERAMIC ULTRAFILTRATION MEMBRANES FOR SEPARATION OF NATURAL ORGANIC MATTER FROM WATER

The experiments were aimed at removing natural organic matter from water by ultrafiltration process. The water from the Odra River and model solution, being a mixture of dechlorinated tap water and humic water from peat-bog, were tested. 3 types of ceramic membranes with the cut-off values equal to 15,50 and 300 kDa as well as 6 types of polymeric membranes made of polyethersulphone and regenerated cellulose with the cut-off of 5, 10 and 30 kDa were examined. The results obtained show the significant influence of membrane material on its transport and separation properties. For all the membranes examined, an increase in the cut-off value resulted in the rise in permeate flux. Among the membranes tested the highest permeate flux values were observed for polymeric membranes. The study has demonstrated that polymeric membranes are less prone to fouling. Polymeric membranes have separated natural organic matter particles more effectively compared with ceramic membranes of a similar cut-off. In the case of polymeric membranes, an increase in cut-off brought about a decrease in separation efficiency, while for ceramic membranes this relation was inverse.