Effects of two-step cleaning sequences on foulant extraction from multibore ultrafiltration membranes in a pilot-scale membrane filtration system for surface water treatment

Abstract

The cleaning efficiencies of fouled multibore ultrafiltration membrane (UFMB) operated from a pilot-scale UF process for surface water treatment were systemically investigated according to the sequences of two different cleaning solutions. The experimental results decisively confirmed that HPI DOM and HPO DOM/multivalent ions complexation significantly resulted in the fouling formations on UFMB due to their neutral charge characteristic. The basic cleaning agent effectively extracted the organic foulants attached on UFMB, indicating that the type of cleaning agent was a critical factor influencing on the cleaning efficiency of fouled UFMB. However, the cleaning sequence 1 (CS-1: 0.1 M NaOH >0.1 M HCl; the total DOC = 725.77 mgC∙m−2; the total TN = 146.35 mgN∙m−2, total inorganic contents = 132.62 mg m−2) much more effectively extracted the foulants on the UFMB surfaces than the cleaning sequence 2 (CS-2: 0.1 M HCl >0.1 M NaOH; the total DOC = 604.49 mgC∙m−2; the total of TN = 121.79 mgN∙m−2, total inorganic contents = 73.43 mg m−2). The morphological results also clearly showed that the cleaned UFMB surface using CS-1 were effectively recovered, as compared with those using CP-2. Overall, this study implied that the hydroxide ions from the basic cleaning agent promoted the infiltration of the acidic cleaning agent into the densely formed fouling layers on the UFMB surfaces and demonstrated that the cleaning sequences strategy could significantly govern the restoration of UFMB performance during the pilot-scale surface water treatment system operation.