Evaluation of the advanced oxidation process integrated with microfiltration for reverse osmosis to treat semiconductor wastewater

Abstract

This study evaluated the filtration performance and energy consumption of three different reverse osmosis (RO) membranes (ESPA2-LD, RE4040-BE, and TMG10D) for treating semiconductor wastewater. A ceramic membrane combined with ozone for RO pre-treatment and the influence of ozone injection on the filtration and energy consumption efficiency of RO were investigated. A flat-sheet ceramic membrane comprising Al2O3/SiO2-ZrO2 was used to treat real and synthetic semiconductor wastewater as feed water. The deionized water (DI) permeabilities of RO membranes were 144.6, 94.22, and 156.6 LMH/bar, respectively. The microfiltration process that used ozone reduced the permeability of all RO processes, and the total organic carbon (TOC) removal rate decreased when ozone was applied. The application of ozone on power consumption was inconclusive, and its effect was unclear indicating an increase 3.37%, 4.48%, and 11.6% when filtrated with ozone, respectively. TMG10D showed the highest permeability followed by ESPA2-LD and RE4040-BE, for both, the real and synthetic wastewaters. However, ESPA2-LD showed the highest salt and TOC rejection followed by RE4040-BE and TMG10D. TMG10D exhibited the lowest energy consumption per ton of filtered water followed by ESPA2-LD and RE4040-BE. ESPA2-LD was determined to be the most suitable membrane in terms of the water quality stability and energy consumption in RO to treat semiconductor wastewater.