| Commercially available titania membranes, with a molecular weight cut-off of 15, 5, 1 kD were used in a ozonation/membrane system that was fed with water from Lake Lansing. The effects of ozonation on permeate flux recovery and membrane fouling was investigated. In addition the effects of ozonation/membrane filtration hybrid process on the removal of the natural organic matter (NOM) and the formation of disinfection by-products (DBPS) were monitored. The commercial membrane (CeRAM Inside, Tami North America, St. Laurent, Quebec, Canada) was coated with iron oxide nanoparticles (4--6 nm in diameter) using a layer-by-layer technique and sintered in air for 30 minutes. Surface characterization was carried out using electron microscopy techniques and atomic force microscopy, to study the changes in structure and surface morphology of the membranes. The removal and survival of bacteria in the process was also evaluated using fluorescence microscopy and microbial assays. Finally the surface catalytic reaction was investigated to propose the mechanism responsible for the improved performance of the hybrid process.;The permeate flux through a titania coated ceramic membrane was significantly affected by ozonation. A minimum threshold ozone concentration (2.5 g/m 3) could achieve complete recovery of permeate flux after fouling. Ozonation/filtration decreased the concentration of chlorinated disinfection by-products up to 80%. With catalyst coated membranes, the concentration of dissolved organic carbon was reduced by >85% and the concentrations of disinfection by-products decreased by up to 90%. Furthermore with the coated membrane, the concentrations of ozonation by-products in the permeate were reduced by >50% as compared to that obtained with the uncoated membranes, thus reducing the risk of potential regrowth of bacteria in the distribution system. Application of the hybrid process lead to greater than 7 log removal of bacteria. Surface characterization showed that optimum water quality was achieved at 40 layers, which corresponds to a surface coating morphology consisting of a uniform, coarse-grained structure with open, nano-sized interconnected pores. A mechanism is proposed showing strong surface catalytic effect leading to improved performance of the ozone-membrane filtration hybrid process. |
