Integration of oxalic acid chelation and Fenton process for synergistic relaxation-oxidation of persistent gel-like fouling of ceramic nanofiltration membranes

Ceramic nanofiltration (NF) is a newly-developed technology for water recycling, but is still limited to pilot-scale applications. Lacking efficient and eco-friendly strategies for cleaning ceramic NF membrane impedes its scaling-up in industries. Forward flush, backwash and acidic/caustic cleaning are not efficient enough. In this work, a...

Adsorption of triclosan, trichlorophenol and phenol by high-silica zeolites: Adsorption efficiencies and mechanisms

High-silica zeolites can be used for adsorption of organic compounds (OCs) from water. The adsorption efficacy could vary with the properties of OCs, as well as the porous and surface features of high-silica zeolites. In this study, the adsorption of triclosan, trichlorophenol (TCP) and phenol by ten high-silica zeolites were investigated. The...

The adsorption mechanisms of organic micropollutants on high-silica zeolites causing S-shaped adsorption isotherms: An experimental and Monte Carlo simulation study

The adsorption of organic micropollutants (OMPs) on high-silica zeolites is characterized by adsorption isotherms with various shapes. The occurrence of an S-shaped adsorption isotherm indicates the lack of adsorption affinity for OMPs at low, environmentally relevant equilibrium concentrations. In this study, S-shaped isotherms were observed...

Highly permeable silicon carbide-alumina ultrafiltration membranes for oil-in-water filtration produced with low-pressure chemical vapor deposition

Silicon carbide (SiC) ceramic membranes are of particular significance for wastewater treatment due to their mechanical strength, chemical stability, and antifouling ability. Currently, the membranes are prepared by SiC-particle sintering at a high temperature. The production suffers from long production time and high costs. In this paper, we...

Fouling control in ceramic nanofiltration membranes during municipal sewage treatment

Using ceramic nanofiltration membranes for treatment of municipal sewage is upcoming. However, the knowledge on fouling control methods for this application are very limited. The most commonly used fouling control method, chemical cleaning, has disadvantages. Chemical cleaning negatively impacts (i) the glass seal layer of tubular ceramic...

Quantifying defects in ceramic tight ultra- and nanofiltration membranes and investigating their robustness

One of the perceived benefits of ceramic membranes is their robustness, which makes them suitable for treating high organic load waste streams. In particular, ceramic tight ultrafiltration (tUF) and nanofiltration (NF) form an important barrier against small colloids and organic molecules. In order to achieve this barrier, the quality of the...

Influence of pH, multivalent counter ions, and membrane fouling on phosphate retention during ceramic nanofiltration

Ceramic nanofiltration is an emerging technology for the recovery of water and nutrients (including phosphate) from municipal sewage which becomes more imperative worldwide. In order to use ceramic nanofiltration for phosphate recovery from municipal sewage, more knowledge is needed. This is the first paper reporting the phosphate retention of...

High-silica zeolites for adsorption of organic micro-pollutants in water treatment: A review

High-silica zeolites have been found to be effective adsorbents for the removal of organic micro-pollutants (OMPs) from impaired water, including various pharmaceuticals, personal care products, industrial chemicals, etc. In this review, the properties and fundamentals of high-silica zeolites are summarised. Recent research on mechanisms and...

Effect of forward flush on fouling mitigation in ceramic nanofiltration membranes

Atmospheric pressure atomic layer deposition for tight ceramic nanofiltration membranes: Synthesis and application in water purification

Tight ceramic nanofiltration (NF) membranes allow efficient separation of organic matter and ions for advanced water treatment. These membranes are typically produced by the sol-gel method. Recently, atomic layer deposition (ALD), a self-limiting gas phase coating technique, has been explored for membrane fabrication and modification. In this...

Integrating powdered activated carbon into wastewater tertiary filter for micro-pollutant removal

Integrating powdered activated carbon (PAC) into wastewater tertiary treatment is a promising technology to reduce organic micro-pollutant (OMP) discharge into the receiving waters. To take advantage of the existing tertiary filter, PAC was pre-embedded inside the filter bed acting as a fixed-bed adsorber. The pre-embedding (i.e. immobilization)...