Reclamation of the wastewater from an industrial park using hollow‐fibre and spiral‐wound membranes: 50 m3 d −1 pilot testing and cost evaluation

Abstract

The feasibility of reclaiming effluent from industrial park wastewater treatment plants through a membrane process was evaluated in three phases. In phase 1 we selected nine wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs), each with a design capacity exceeding 10,000 m3 d−1, and analyzed the corresponding effluent composition. ‘Potential recycling percentage’, R, ranged from 50% to 80% for the industrial park WWTPs, indicating a high feasibility for the reuse of effluent. In phase 2, a 50 m3 d−1 pilot plant was installed in one of the selected WWTPs and underwent testing for one year. The quality of the reclaimed water was suitable for general‐purpose industrial use. In the two ultrafiltration (UF) modules tested, the hydrophilic polyethersulfone hollow‐fibre module was more tolerant to variable properties, and had higher recycling percentages than those of backwashable hydrophobic polyvinylidene difluoride spiral‐wound module. Using the spiral‐wound UF module helped reduce the cost for producing 1 m3 of reclaimed water (US$0.80) compared with a hollow‐fiber module (US$0.88). In phase 3, we evaluated the negative effects of refluxing the reverse osmosis retentate, containing high total dissolved solids and non‐biodegradable organics, with the biological treatment unit of the upstream WWTP. Biological compactibility tests showed that the refluxed retentate ratio should be reduced to maintain the conductivity of mixed liquor in the aeration tank at less than 110% of the original value.