Membrane Fouling Managament in Wastewater Treatment: Myths Versus Lessons Learned from Operating Membrane Bioreactor and Tertiary Filtration Systems

Abstract

In parallel with the ever increasing need to utilize alternative water supplies such as high quality reclaimed water to meet water demand, more stringent regulatory requirements coupled with a reduction in capital and operating costs for membrane systems is resulting in a greater adoption of membrane bioreactor (MBR) and tertiary membrane filtration. In some instances, high land values and extreme space constraints result in membrane systems being the most attractive form of treatment for water reclamation. A thorough understanding of available membrane technologies, individual membrane products, fouling potential of various feedwater sources, and other design and operational issues is critical for design of reliable membrane systems that can support the water portfolio of the communities, which is already strained by the on going drought conditions especially in the western states of North America and Texas. Focusing solely on tertiary membrane filtration systems, Erdal et al. (2008) assessed the impacts of the upstream wastewater treatment and resulting effluent quality on tertiary membrane filtration system design. The findings point to crucial findings for membrane filtration systems that would have failed if designed using conventional tertiary membrane filtration design guidelines.