Removal of THMP by nanofiltration: Effects of interference parameters

An experimental investigation is conducted to evaluate the effects of inter ference parameters on the performance of nanofiltration for removal of trih alomethane precursors (THMPs). The influence of operating pressure, feed TH MPs concentration, pH, presence of other ions (Ca2+ and Mg2+), and suspende d solids on nanofiltration performance are determined. The effect of membra ne precompaction is studied as well. Membrane performance for reversible an d irreversible compaction is compared. Pretreated surface water from a pond is used as the feed water in the study to simulate the practical condition s in water treatment industries. Experimental results show that precompacte d membrane has a higher rejection capacity.;Higher pressure, feed THMP conc entration, and suspended solids increase rejection. However, overall flux v ariation due to these parameters is found to be negligible. On the other ha nd presence of divalent ions reduce the rejection capacity. Generally rejec tion is found to be greater than 90% for a precompacted membrane, which tur ned out to be well suited for industrial scale application of nanofiltratio n for removal of THMPs. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.