Abstract
Abstract Decentralized membrane-based water treatment represents an attractive and viable approach to safe water supply in low-income areas, but its widespread adoption requires cost-effective antifouling strategies. Although the antifouling mechanisms of Al-based coagulants have been widely investigated, there is little data about their impact on costs and treatment efficiency for decentralized membrane-based systems. In this study, a comparative assessment of two decentralized ultrafiltration (UF) units with and without polyaluminum chloride (PACl) coagulation was undertaken to evaluate the influence of coagulation on the fouling, water quality, and costs nexus. The results showed that PACl suppressed both total fouling and hydraulically irreversible fouling. A matched-pair analysis also revealed that PACl improved the permeate quality by enhancing the removal of particulates and dissolved organics. Compared with the conventional UF system, the hybrid coagulation–UF system contributed to a 21% increase in the flux rate, allowing for a 27% reduction in membrane area and thus, providing cost benefits in terms of both capital and operating costs. These results suggest that PACl coagulation is potentially a cost-effective antifouling method for decentralized membrane-based water systems.
Highlights
Inadequate access to safe drinking water imperils life, subdues opportunity and subverts human dignity (Watkins )
polyaluminum chloride (PACl) coagulation ameliorated the permeate flux in the pilotscale UF unit by significantly suppressing both the total fouling and hydraulically irreversible fouling
PACl improved the permeate quality by significantly enhancing turbidity, color, dissolved organic carbon (DOC), ultraviolet absorbance at 254 nm (UVA254), and specific UVA254 absorbance (SUVA) removal
Summary
Inadequate access to safe drinking water imperils life, subdues opportunity and subverts human dignity (Watkins ). 2.1 billion people – 29% of the global population – lack safely managed drinking water services (WHO/ UNICEF ). In many LIC, drinking water treatment is mainly focused on conventional technologies such as. Conventional technologies are designed for use in large centralized systems. They are highly unlikely to be installed in rural communities due to their high investment costs
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