Bio-diatomite dynamic membrane reactor for micro-polluted surface water treatment

Abstract

This work investigated the feasibility of treating micro-polluted surface water for drinking water production with a bio-diatomite dynamic membrane reactor (BDDMR) at lab-scale in continuous-flow mode. Results indicate that the BDDMR was effective in removing COD Mn, DOC, UV 254, NH 3-N and trihalomethanes' formation potential (THMFP) at a hydraulic retention time (HRT) of 3.5 h due to its high concentrations of mixed liquor suspended solids (MLSS) and mixed liquor volatile suspended solids (MLVSS). The removal of pollutants was mainly ascribed to microbial degradation in BDDMR because the dynamic membrane alone was much less effective in pollutant removal. Though the diatomite particles (5–20 μm) were much smaller in size than the aperture of the stainless steel support mesh (74 μm), microorganisms and their extracellular polymer substances could bind these particles tightly to form bio-diatomite particles which were completely retained by the support mesh. The analysis of molecular weight (MW) distribution by gel permeation chromatography (GPC) shows that the BDDMR could effectively remove the hydrophilic fraction of dissolved organic materials present in the raw water.