Fouling behavior and performance of a submerged flat-sheet nanofiltration membrane system for direct treatment of secondary wastewater effluent

Direct nanofiltration (NF) of secondary treated effluent can significantly simplify water recycling, especially for small scale operations. This study evaluated the performance a novel flat-sheet submerged NF membrane module at low flux to minimize fouling. The separation system was assessed by periodically measuring color, turbidity, pH, UV light absorbance wavelength 254 nm, and total organic carbon concentrations feed permeate. During 48-d test, negligible fouling found when direct treatment wastewater conducted 3 L/m 2 h. trans-membrane pressure increased less than 0.072 kPa/d. foulant layer on surface readily removed simple physical cleaning, which suggests that reversible major mechanism. achieved high stable removal organics (total >80 %) during operation period. demonstrated efficacy using achieving operations producing high-quality recycled water.