Chapter 5 - Removal of contaminants of emerging concern by FO, RO, and UF membranes in water and wastewater

Abstract

The presence of contaminants of emerging concern (CECs), such as endocrine-disrupting compounds, pharmaceuticals, personal care products, and several metals, is of concern because they are not completely removed during conventional water and wastewater (WW) treatment processes, including coagulation/flocculation/sedimentation/filtration and biologically activated sludge processes. Forward osmosis (FO), reverse osmosis (RO), and ultrafiltration (UF) membranes are well-known as advanced treatment processes for the removal of complex inorganic and organic contaminants in water and WW. This review provides a summary of recent research on the removal of CECs by FO, RO, and UF membrane treatment and also provides information valuable for applications of FO, RO, and UF membrane treatment in water and WW treatment. The primary objective of this chapter is to combine current knowledge of membrane treatment of inorganic and organic CECs in water and WW and to identify knowledge gaps to highlight future research areas. In particular, this review aims to (i) briefly evaluate the removal of both inorganic and organic CECs by various treatment techniques in water and WW, (ii) address key factors (water quality conditions and membrane operation conditions) influencing the removal of CECs during membrane filtration, and (iii) discuss CECs removal with regard to their properties. Additionally, areas of future research in membrane treatment for the removal of CECs from water are suggested.