Natural organic matter is a major foulant of membranes used to treat natural waters. In low-pressure systems, fouling is often severe even when >95% of the NOM passes through the membrane, demonstrating that the foulant molecules comprise a small fraction of the NOM. The fouling mechanism has been hypothesized to be blockage or narrowing of pores due to adsorption of NOM molecules, or formation of a gel layer on the membrane surface. We have investigated fouling of ceramic membranes by NOM and found that pre-exposure of the feed to finely-crushed ceramics reduces fouling much less than pretreatment by passage through an intact ceramic membrane. This result implies that most fouling is caused not by adsorption of NOM molecules as they exist in natural waters, but rather by NOM coagulation at the membrane surface. SEC fractionation of material recovered from the membrane surface provides insight into the nature of these foulants.

Properties of natural organic matter (NOM) related to membrane fouling

245th National Meeting (2013)

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