title: Effects of total suspended solids loading on short-term fouling in the treatment of secondary effluent by an immersed ultrafiltration pilot system.
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: School of Engineering, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, Canada. jcitulsk@uoguelph.ca
authors.forename: Joel A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Citulski
authors.forename: Khosrow
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Farahbakhsh
authors.forename: Fraser C
authors.initials: FC
authors.lastname: Kent
mesh_terms: D010865:Pilot Projects; D014462:Ultrafiltration; D018505:Waste Management / Q000379:methods*