Management Of Waste Streams Research Articles

Methods for Treatment of Animal and Plant-Based Biomass Waste

Abstract In the work presented, effective methods of biomass processing for its reuse in the framework of the circular economy were determined. Based on various sources, a definition of biomass was obtained. The review covers preliminary operations, i.e., screening and grinding, as well as the methods of pressure and non-pressure agglomeration of plant and animal biomass, as well as the process of torrefaction of plant biomass. The analysis of the literature indicates various process and technological solutions for biomass processing, as well as provides numerous examples of the use of biomass in combination with other types of industrial waste and mineral additives. The activities undertaken as part of the work are consistent with the assumptions of the European Green Deal and are carried out in order to improve the management of waste streams (green productivity) and to increase the amount of recovered energy produced.

A multidisciplinary approach to assess environmental and economic impact of conventional and innovative vineyards management systems in Northern Italy

Viticulture is gradually shifting to more sustainable production systems and a fair number of studies aim at assessing the environmental impacts of different technologies and techniques adopted in the wine production through the Life Cycle Assessment approach. The main environmental issues identified are on water, soil and energy use, management of organic and inorganic solid waste streams, greenhouse gas emissions and use of chemicals. Precision viticulture (PV) techniques can play an important role in the sustainable use of water and fertilizers in grape production, thanks to the site-specific application of these inputs, improving yield and quality of grapes while minimizing negative effects on the environment. However, PV often implies investments and additional management costs. The objective of this study is to compare different strategies for the management of water and fertilizers in vineyards, ranging from the conventional ones to the most technologically advanced, to assess their sustainability both from an economic and an environmental point of view. Six scenarios have been explored, considering different irrigation water supply systems, and irrigation and fertilizer management strategies. A multidisciplinary approach, including Life Cycle Assessment, economic assessment and multivariate analysis was used to assess the sustainability of the different vineyard management approaches. The results show the higher economic and environmental sustainability for the scenario considering irrigation water supplied from an irrigation consortium, a variable rate drip irrigation system for irrigation and fertigation. Finally, also according to PCA results, at least for the scenarios explored in the study, the introduction of PV technologies led to the reduction of environmental impacts and to the increase in economic advantages, which showed to be inversely correlated.

Column adsorption of Rhodamine 6G over Na–P/SOD zeolite synthesised from aluminosilicate secondary waste

Waste stream management for the conversion of coal fly ash into potential value-added aluminosilicate products has attracted intensive research in recent years. However, these valorisation processes generate secondary solid and liquid waste, thereby challenging the efficient recycling process, environmental sustainability, and industrial scalability. This study successfully utilised the secondary waste recovered after the extraction process of nanosilica from coal fly ash to synthesise Na–P/SOD zeolite adsorbent. The secondary solid waste was composed mainly of SiO2>Na2O > Al2O3 with mineral phases of thenardite, burkeite, and sodium carbonate sulphate. Upon thermal treatment of the secondary solid and liquid wastes, a high fraction of zeolite Na–P phase was formed and the characterised Si–O–Si or Si–O–Al bonds increased with increasing treatment period. Fixed-bed column studies were conducted for the adsorption of Rhodamine 6G over the synthesised adsorbents. High efficiency (71%) of Rhodamine 6G removal was achieved over the adsorbent with the highest fraction of Na–P/SOD zeolite phases. This adsorbent exhibited an extended utility before ultimate breakthrough and exhaustion time, which only occurred after prolonged uptake of the dye. The column adsorption data fitted the Thomas and Adams-Bohart model, thus, confirming the suitability of the adsorbents for the removal of dye from wastewater.

Assessing the Economic Feasibility of Integrated Waste to Use Systems for Uganda

Waste and sanitation Management is a major challenge in urban areas in Uganda where waste is composed of atleast 70% organic content and is basically collected and disposed of in landfills. While 90% of the sanitation facilities used are onsite systems often requiring additional treatment of sewage and faecal matter sewage yet faecal and sewage sludge treatment plants are few. The projected population increase is expected to further influence urbanization, increasing the need for basic waste and sanitation services. Integrated Waste to Use systems that consider combined management of organic waste streams i.e. biowaste, animal waste, sewage and faecal sludge, could be a viable solution for the urban areas. The systems which consist of a combination of anaerobic digestion, composting, incineration and solar drying technologies promote resource recovery in the form of biogas, briquettes and organic fertilizer. The economic feasibility of the Waste to Use systems was carried out and the results indicated that the feasibility of the systems was positively influenced by the inclusion of the anaerobic digestion process, which allowed for recovery of biogas and digestate as organic fertilizer. Furthermore, a combination of low system investment costs, increased revenues from resource recovery, consideration of equity capital of at least 30%, interest rate of at most 10% and fugitive emissions less than 7 % would positively influence the economic feasibility of the system alternatives.

Valorization of agro-industrial wastes for biorefinery process and circular bioeconomy: A critical review

Energy recovery from waste resources is a promising approach towards environmental consequences. In the prospect of environmental sustainability, utilization of agro-industrial waste residues as feedstock for biorefinery processes have gained widespread attention. In the agro-industry, various biomasses are exposed to different unit processes for offering value to various agro-industrial waste materials. Agro-industrial wastes can generate a substantial amount of valuable products such as fuels, chemicals, energy, electricity, and by-products. This paper reviews the methodologies for valorization of agro-industrial wastes and their exploitation for generation of renewable energy products. In addition, management of agro-industrial wastes and products from agro-industrial wastes have been elaborated. The waste biorefinery process using agro-industrial wastes does not only offer energy, it also offers environmentally sustainable modes, which address effective management of waste streams. This review aims to highlight the cascading use of biomass from agro-industrial wastes into the systemic approach for economic development.

Management of Green Waste Streams from Different Origins: Assessment of Different Composting Scenarios

The organic wastes of plant origin and, in particular, those coming from sources related to tourism activities, such as those generated from golf courses and touristic coasts, constitute an increasing concern due to the rise in their production and their unsuitable management. Thus, this work aimed to assess the use of different composting strategies to manage these specific green wastes, such as grass clippings and pruning waste from a golf course and marine plant debris, mainly from posidonia (Posidonia oceanica L.). To this end, two composting scenarios were established: the first only considered green wastes in the composition of the composting mixtures, and the second used sewage sludge as a co-composting agent. The temperature of the piles was monitored, and physicochemical and chemical parameters were also studied throughout the process. The results obtained showed that composting is a feasible method to manage and recycle this type of green waste, obtaining end products with suitable physicochemical and chemical characteristics. However, proportions of sea plant wastes in the composting mixture higher than 30% can compromise the fertilizing value of the final compost. Moreover, the use of an additional co-composting agent (sewage sludge) improved the characteristics of the end products obtained, provided that this co-composting agent had suitable initial characteristics.

High-impact innovations for high-salinity membrane desalination

Reducing the cost of high-salinity (>75 g/L total dissolved solids) brine concentration technology would unlock the potential for vast inland water supplies and promote the safe management of concentrated aqueous waste streams. Impactful innovation will target component performance improvements and cost reductions that yield the highest impact on system costs, but the desalination community lacks methods for quantitatively evaluating the value of innovation or the robustness of technology platforms relative to competing technologies. This work proposes a suite of methods built on process-based cost optimization models that explicitly address the complexities of membrane-separation processes, namely that these processes comprise dozens of nonlinearly interacting components and that innovation can occur in more than one component at a time. We begin by demonstrating the merit of performing simple parametric sensitivity analysis on component performance and cost to guide the selection of materials and manufacturing methods that reduce system costs. A more rigorous implementation of this approach relates improvements in component performance to increases in component costs, helping to further discern high-impact innovation trajectories. The most advanced implementation includes a stochastic simulation of the value of innovation that accounts for both the expected impact of a component innovation on reducing system costs and the potential for improvements in other components. Finally, we apply these methods to identify innovations with the highest probability of substantially reducing the levelized cost of water from emerging membrane processes for high-salinity brine treatment.

Organizational and Functional Structure of the System of Information and Analytical Management of Construction Waste Streams

Purpose. The main purpose of the work is to define and substantiate the principles, functional requirements and objectives of the implementation of information and analytical support for the management of waste streams of construction and wracking as secondary resources; development of the organizational and functional structure of the information-analytical management system, which would satisfy the conditions for the introduction of a logistical approach within the framework of integrated management of construction waste streams and became the basis for creating a single information platform. Methodology. As a methodological basis for the research of the process of managing the secondary resources streams and reversible streams in the construction industry, a logistic approach is used. It involves the analysis of factors influencing the system and study of its dynamic behavior as a complex adaptive system. The system approach in the development of information-analytical management systems involves solving the following tasks: development of a functional model of the management system of construction and wracking waste streams; construction of interaction matrices of automated processes and data routing processes; modeling the logical architecture of the data warehouses; development of a software and hardware set. Findings. The main tasks of developing information support for the logistics management system of construction and wracking waste streams are substantiated. The integration into the system of the following functional blocks is proposed: database formation; block for estimating the total economic costs of the process; environmental damage assessment blocks; information risk assessment; evaluation of alternative methods of waste stream management; optimal route formation block; visualization block. Based on the generalization of requirements and possibilities of the functionality analyzed information-analytical systems and requirements which would provide efficiency of construction waste streams management, the organizational-functional structure of the system of information-analytical management is proposed. Originality. The work gives reasons for the inclusion in the list of functional blocks of the organizational and functional structure of the information-analytical management system, which should be the basis for creating an information platform for the management of construction and wracking waste streams, environmental and information risk assessment. Practical value. Implementation within the information-analytical management of environmental damage assessment (as part of the efficiency assessment of the construction waste streams) and information risk assessment (as a tool of logistical approach) will provide the ability to predict key system indicators, make optimal decisions aimed at maximum inclusion of construction waste streams in the system as a potential secondary raw material, a sufficient level of economic and environmental efficiency with the optimal level of logistics costs.

Environmental impact of emerging contaminants from battery waste: A mini review

The widespread consumption of electronic devices has made spent batteries an ongoing economic and ecological concern with a compound annual growth rate of up to 8% during 2018, and expected to reach between 18% and 30% to 2030. There is a lack of regulations for the proper storage and management of waste streams that enables their accumulation in open settings and the leakage of hazardous substances into the environment on landfill settings. In addition, recent trends in battery manufacture dictate the use of emerging materials like ionic liquids for electrolytes and nanostructures for cathodes to enhance their energetic properties and lifespan. The full impact of novel battery compounds on the environment is still uncertain and could cause further hindrances in recycling and containment efforts. Currently, only a handful of countries are able to recycle mass-produced lithium batteries, accounting for only 5% of the total waste of the total more than 345,000 tons in 2018. This mini review aims to integrate currently reported and emerging contaminants present on batteries, their potential environmental impact, and current strategies for their detection as evidence for policy and regulation.

Integration of enzymatic pretreatment and sludge co-digestion in biogas production from microalgae

Integration of microalgae-based systems with conventional wastewater treatment plants provides an effective alternative to waste stream management. In this work, alkaline and enzymatic pretreatments of a microalgal culture mainly constituted by Chlorella sp. and Scenedesmus sp. and cultivated in wastewater from an industrial winery wastewater treatment plant were assessed. Microalgal enzymatic pretreatments were expected to overcome algal recalcitrancy before anaerobic digestion. pH-induced flocculation at pH 10 and 11 did not enhance microalgal harvesting and solubilisation, achieving a performance similar to that of natural sedimentation. Enzymatic hydrolysis of algal biomass was carried out using three commercial enzymatic cocktails (A, B and C) at two enzymatic doses (1% and 2% (v/v)) over 3 h of exposure time at 37 °C. Since pretreatments at a 1% dose for 0.5 h and 2% dose for 2 h achieved higher solubilisation, they were selected to evaluate the influence of the pretreatment on microalgal anaerobic digestibility. Biochemical methane potential tests showed that the pretreatments increased the methane production of the raw algal biomass 3.6- to 5.3-fold. The methane yield was 9–27% higher at the lower enzyme dose. Hence, microalgae pretreated with enzymes B and C at a 1% dose were co-digested with waste activated sludge (WAS). Even when the enzyme increased the methane yield of the inoculum and the WAS, the methane yield of the raw microalgae and WAS mixture was not significantly different from that obtained when algae were enzymatically pretreated. Nonetheless, co-digestion may achieve the goals of a waste recycled bio-circular economy.

Comparative LCA of Municipal Solid Waste Collection and Sorting Schemes Considering Regional Variability

Plastic packaging brings safety, hygiene, and comfort to the consumers; however, they also bring a massive problem to the society and to the environment – plastic waste streams. Approximately only one-third of plastic waste is transformed into new recycled goods whereas the rest is incinerated, sent to landfills or, end up in the environment. Therefore, proper management of plastic waste streams has great importance from social, political, and environmental perspectives. Recycling is promoted among the solid waste hierarchy as the most preferred option after waste prevention and reduction. However, only a holistic approach can reveal the advantages, the disadvantages and the hotspots of the waste management structures. Life cycle assessment is a powerful method to understand the environmental impacts of recycling routes. Reaching the end of use and leaving the households, plastic waste undergoes a serial of processes until the recycling facilities. These pre-treatment steps are characterized by a high variability due to technological factors such as collection and sorting scenarios, and spatial factors such as the distance driven by the waste trucks or the electricity mix. This paper investigates (i) the possible advantages of bring point collection compared to door-to-door collection system and (ii) the influence of relevant regional issues. The overarching goal of the study is setting the boundaries to secure an environmentally meaningful chemical recycling process and to quantify the environmental impacts related to the background systems. A comparative LCA is performed to evaluate both systems and subsequently, the influence of regional varying elements is tested through sensitivity analysis. These analyses include different scenarios where the collection, transport and sorting practices are at the scope. The results reveal the advantages of source separation and the importance of regional aspects in LCA modeling.

Influence of chemical residue on the environmental engineering

This review summarizes waste management and there is a need for better understanding the scientific findings for recycling the waste materials and suggests areas where further research is needed. In major cities around the world, waste management today is based on a comprehensive, sustainable and environmentally sound system of maximization. From this perspective you are one of the most important issues in urban management. From this perspective you are one of the most important issues in urban management. Therefore, a number of cities around the world have succeeded in achieving an integrated and efficient management to achieve this goal by designing and implementing a variety of programs using state of the art technology separation of origin, collection, transportation and processing mechanisms. The main components of a modern waste management system generally include production, collection, separation, recycling and disposal. Separation, processing and recycling may occur at any stage of waste stream management. Design and implementation of a comprehensive sustainable waste management system require consideration of different waste characteristics in the region. Today’s humanity has been subjected to some form of consumerism. Lowering the quality standards for all types of goods and products, reducing, lowering some standards for quality control of goods, lacking serious quality control over products, increasing population, increasing consumer demand, diversifying goods, fashionable packaging, people’s desire to buy product. Stylish and thousands of said and untold indices result in consumerism and the consequence of producing millions of tons of different types of waste that are produced on a daily basis.

All Treatment Parameters Affect Environmental Surface Sanitation Efficacy, but Their Relative Importance Depends on the Microbial Target.

Environmental sanitation in food manufacturing plants promotes food safety and product microbial quality. However, the development of experimental models remains a challenge due to the complex nature of commercial cleaning processes, which include spraying water and sanitizer on equipment and structural surfaces within manufacturing space. Although simple in execution, the physical driving forces are difficult to simulate in a controlled laboratory environment. Here, we present a bench-scale bioreactor system which mimics the flow conditions in environmental sanitation programs. We applied computational fluid dynamic (CFD) simulations to obtain fluid flow parameters that better approximate and predict industrial outcomes. According to the CFD model, the local wall shear stress achieved on the target surface ranged from 0.015 to 5.00 Pa. Sanitation efficacy on six types of environmental surface materials (hydrophobicity, 57.59 to 88.61°; roughness, 2.2 to 11.9 μm) against two different microbial targets, the bacterial pathogen Listeria monocytogenes and Exophiala species spoilage fungi, were evaluated using the bench-scale bioreactor system. The relative reduction ranged from 0.0 to 0.82 for Exophiala spp., which corresponded to a 0.0 to 2.21 log CFU/coupon reduction, and the relative reduction ranged from 0.0 to 0.93 in L. monocytogenes which corresponded to a 0.0 to 6.19 log CFU/coupon reduction. Although most treatment parameters were considered statistically significant against either L. monocytogenes or Exophiala spp., contact time was ranked as the most important predictor for L. monocytogenes reduction. Shear stress contributed the most to Exophiala spp. removal on stainless steel and Buna-N rubber, while contact time was the most important factor on HDPE (high-density polyethylene), cement, and epoxy.IMPORTANCE Commercial food manufacturers commonly employ a single sanitation program that addresses both bacterial pathogen and fungal spoilage microbiota, despite the fact that the two microbial targets respond differently to various environmental sanitation conditions. Comparison of outcome-based clusters of treatment combinations may facilitate the development of compensatory sanitation regimes where longer contact time or greater force are applied so that lower sanitizer concentrations can be used. Determination of microbiological outcomes related to sanitation program efficacy against a panel of treatment conditions allows food processors to balance tradeoffs between quality and safety with cost and waste stream management, as appropriate for their facility.

ENVIRONMENTALLY-ECONOMIC FEASIBILITY OF INTEGRATED MANAGEMENT OF WASTE FLOWS IN THE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY

Purpose. Substantiation of promising areas of research on the environmental and economic feasibility of integrated management of waste streams in the construction industry, systematization of the principles of such management, identification of existing trends, analysis of approaches and directions for solving the problem of construction waste management. Methodology. Achieving this goal involves a systematic analysis of the problem of waste management in the construction industry, which takes into account the relevance of the problem, regulatory regulation, scientific research on this issue and provides for the creation of an effective integrated management model. Results. The study substantiates that the creation of an integrated waste management system in the construction industry, which provides for the use of planning, forecasting and assessment methods for construction waste streams, is able to provide a solution to the main environmental problems in the construction industry: effective waste management by creating an economically viable, efficient and environmentally friendly regional waste management system. Originality. The key principles for the development and functioning of a model of an integrated waste management system for the construction industry have been determined: the principle of environmental friendliness of all processes in the system; the principle of efficiency; principles of logistics; the principle of motivation. Practical value. Substantiation of the principles of creating a model for integrated management of construction waste streams, the feasibility of using a logistic approach, determining the content and structure of input information flows based on system analysis and environmental assessment, is a prerequisite for a scientific, methodological and practical solution to the problem of waste management in the construction industry.

Predicting the performance of direct contact membrane distillation (DCMD): Mathematical determination of appropriate tortuosity based on porosity

Direct contact membrane distillation (DCMD) is a promising novel membrane technology for management of waste streams from food manufacturing operations, and for concentration of value-added components from the waste streams. Due to the complexity of technology, the development of prediction models to describe mass transfer during DCMD presents a significant contribution. The overall objective of this investigation was to propose models for prediction of membrane tortuosity based on measured porosity, and to confirm the models by experimental measurements of water flux for DCMD applications. Three types of commercial membranes with porosities ranging from 69.8% to 87.9% were investigated. Eleven (11) different models for prediction of tortuosity from porosity were identified from published literature and evaluated. Statistical comparisons of predicted and experimental water flux were conducted using root-mean-square-error, accuracy factor, and bias factor to identify the models providing the closest agreement between predicted and experiment outcomes. The statistical comparisons indicated that models based on the fractal theory provide the closest agreement between predicted and experimental water flux for DCMD applications. In addition, the proposed model provided best agreement between predicted and experimental temperatures. The simulations of water flux were used to evaluate the influence of membrane surface area on water flux, and capabilities of the tortuosity models. As the width and length of membrane were increased, the differences in water flux predicted by proposed model, as compared to the traditional model, increased significantly. These outcomes confirm the importance using appropriate models for prediction of tortuosity for DCMD applications. • 11 different models provide the different magnitude of estimation for tortuosity. • Estimated tortuosity provides a well-matched prediction for water flux. • Accurate prediction is useful for large scale designs.

Geotechnical sustainability in the United Arab Emirates - Sustainability rating tools

Sustainability and the concept of sustainable development now forms part of governmental policy around the world. The United Arab Emirates is no different, recognising that its ecological footprint and continued growth require management of resources and waste streams. A fundamental part of this is sustainable construction and operation of civil engineering projects such as buildings, roads and airports. Geotechnical engineering is required on practically all civil engineering projects yet is often overlooked when design and construction decisions are being made regarding civil engineering sustainability. One of the most common ways to measure sustainability in civil engineering projects is through rating tools. Rating tools have grown and developed internationally for decades and are used across the world for various different projects (buildings, roads, infrastructure etc.). The United Arab Emirates have developed their own local ratings tools (and sustainability frameworks) and have mandated their use in certain projects. There is significant scope for geotechnical engineering to contribute to improving sustainability and rating tools are one element that can be developed. A detailed review of local and international ratings tools is carried out to understand where geotechnical engineering can currently contribute and the possibilities to improve geotechnical sustainability in the United Arab Emirates are discussed.

Exploring Biogas and Biofertilizer Production from Abattoir Wastes in Nigeria Using a Multi-Criteria Assessment Approach

Management of waste streams from abattoirs is a major challenge in developing countries. Harnessing these wastes as resources for the production of biogas and biofertilizer could contribute to curbing the environmental menace and to addressing the problems of energy and food deficits in Nigeria. However, large scale uptake of the technology is faced with techno-socio-economic and the lack of data required for effective investment decisions. In this study, the potential use of waste generated in the north central region of Nigerian abattoirs, representing approximately 12% of the land and 6% of the population, were evaluated for suitability for biogas and biofertilizer production. Data acquired from the study sites were used for computational estimation and integrated into strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT) analysis to give a detailed overview of the prospects and the limiting factors. The study revealed that high investment costs and public subsidies for fossil fuels are the key limiting factors while the prospects of tapping into the unexploited carbon markets and multiple socio-economic and environmental benefits favors investment. Public supports in the form of national policy reforms leading to intervention programs are required for progress.

Designing Circular Waste Management Strategies: The Case of Organic Waste in Amsterdam

AbstractUrban waste management is one of the most complex and urgent challenges that the society faces. In this paper, an innovative research methodology is proposed, introducing a systemic approach to circular waste management strategy‐making. Urban waste management is a complex system that needs to be tackled in a holistic, yet context‐specific manner. To produce truly integrative outcomes, this paper provides insight into the system as a whole, its components and the relationships between them, using specific tools, to form the basis for a circular strategy. A toolbox is presented for transforming the current linear and fragmented waste management processes into integrative and circular strategies. The proposed integrative methodology encompassing outline, multipillar mapping, and synthesis can be applied to different locations and waste streams. The concept is subsequently demonstrated through a case study focusing on the municipality of Amsterdam (the Netherlands) and the management of organic waste streams.

Techno-Economic Assessment of a Scaled-Up Meat Waste Biorefinery System: A Simulation Study.

While exports from the meat industry in New Zealand constitute a valuable source of foreign exchange, the meat industry is also responsible for the generation of large masses of waste streams. These meat processing waste streams are largely biologically unstable and are capable of leading to unfavourable environmental outcomes if not properly managed. To enable the effective management of the meat processing waste streams, a value-recovery based strategy, for the complete valorisation of the meat processing waste biomass, is proposed. In the present study therefore, a biorefinery system that integrates the biomass conversion technologies of hydrolysis, esterification, anaerobic digestion and hydrothermal liquefaction has been modelled, simulated and optimized for enhanced environmental performance and economic performance. It was determined that an initial positive correlation between the mass feed rate of the waste to the biorefinery system and its environmental performance exists. However, beyond an optimal total mass feed rate of the waste stream there is a deterioration of the environmental performance of the biorefinery system. It was also determined that economies of scale ensure that any improvement in the economic performance of the biorefinery system with increasing total mass feed rate of the waste stream, is sustained. The present study established that the optimized meat waste biorefinery system facilitated a reduction in the unit production costs of the value-added products of biodiesel, biochar and biocrude compared the literature-obtained unit production costs of the respective aforementioned products when generated from stand-alone systems. The unit production cost of biogas was however shown to be comparable to the literature-obtained unit production cost of biogas. Finally, the present study showed that the optimized meat processing waste biorefinery could achieve enhanced economic performance while simultaneously maintaining favourable environmental sustainability.

Management of Waste Streams from Dairy Manufacturing Operations Using Membrane Filtration and Dissolved Air Flotation

Membrane filtration can provide a significant role in the management of waste streams from food manufacturing operations. The objective of this research was to evaluate the reductions in the organic content of waste streams accomplished when using membrane filtration. Reductions in Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) by membrane filtration were compared to a Dissolved Air Floatation (DAF) system. Membranes with six different pore sizes (200, 20, 8, 4, 0.083, and 0.058 kDa) were evaluated. In addition, the various membrane treatments were applied after the DAF as an additional level of comparison. The DAF treatment provided 75.15 ± 3.95% reduction in COD, and the reduction in COD improved from 85% to 99% as the membrane pore size decreased. When all membranes were used after a DAF pre-treatment, a reduction in COD to less than 1200 ppm in the permeate stream was achieved. These reductions were independent of the COD in the feed stream. The membrane fouling rates were evaluated for the membranes with the four largest pore-sizes membranes. The membranes with 20 kDa pore-size had the lowest fouling rates during extended fouling-rate studies.