Unsatisfactory effluent purification, limited to secondary treatment, considerably restricts the reuse of treated water. In this study, the performance of three ceramic ultrafiltration (UF) membranes UF1 (0.02 μm), UF2 (0.05 μm), and UF3 (0.1 μm) was evaluated for the recovery of secondary effluent (SE) from a wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) in Kenitra. The effects of different parameters on treated water quality were assessed, including transmembrane pressure (TMP), circulation velocity (CV), and membrane pore size. The results indicated that the UF1 membrane was more effective than UF2 and UF3, achieving maximum removal rates for chemical oxygen demand (COD), biochemical oxygen demand at 5 days (DBO5), and total suspended solids (TSS) of 75%, 72%, and 96%, respectively, under optimal operating conditions of TMP at 1 bar and CV at 1 m/s. UF2 achieved removal rates of 70%, 71%, and 94% for COD, BOD5, and TSS, respectively, under the same conditions. For UF3, the highest removal rates were 64%, 62%, and 92% for COD, BOD5, and TSS, respectively, at 2 bar and 1 m/s. Moreover, the experiments also demonstrated that an increase in TMP results in increased permeate flux and fouling resistance, while CV has also an impact on the permeate flux. Additionally, a very satisfactory retention rate for microorganisms was observed, exceeding 90%, with no presence of helminth eggs (100% removal) detected in the treated water. Nutrient elimination was also notable, with reductions of 14% for total Kjeldahl nitrogen (TKN) and 50% for total phosphorus (TP) using the UF1 membrane, which was selected based on its optimal performance.
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