Effect of operating conditions on the performance of multichannel ceramic ultrafiltration membranes for cattle wastewater treatment

Abstract

Ceramic membrane has been widely used in treatment of wastewater. In this study the performance of multichannel ceramic membranes in cattle wastewater treatment was studied under different operating conditions, including varied membrane pore size, transmembrane pressure (TMP), cross-flow velocity (CFV), operating temperature, and feed pH. According to the results, the optimal operating conditions were: membrane pore size – 50 nm, TMP – 0.2 MPa, CFV – 4 m/s, operating temperature – 40 ℃, and original pH. Applying these conditions, cattle wastewater treatment concentration experiments were conducted, and the results showed that the membrane could operate up to a concentration factor of five, exhibiting suspended solid, turbidity, and total phosphorus removal rates of 100 %, 99.20 %, and 80.21 %, respectively. In addition, the membrane maintained stable performance through five independent cycles. These findings are expected to help facilitate an efficient ceramic membrane treatment for livestock and poultry breeding wastewater.