Jhjm. Van Der Graaf et al., Experiments on membrane filtration of effluent at wastewater treatment plants in the Netherlands, WATER SCI T, 39(5), 1999, pp. 129-136
In the Netherlands interest in advanced treatment is increasing now that al
most all wastewater treatment plants apply full biological treatment and nu
trient removal. Membrane filtration of WWTP-effluent appears to be a very p
romising method to remove suspended solids and, in addition, bacteria and v
iruses. Experiments with a pilot unit consisting of a dual media prefilter
and a membrane filter, containing capillary membranes with a pore size of 0
.01 mu m (ultrafiltration) and working in a semi dead-end mode, gave rather
promising results. A flux of 90 l/m(2).h was achieved after optimizing the
cleaning procedures (TMP 0.6 bar, recovery > 90%). Experiments with microf
iltration (transverse flow module) based on the cross-flow principle were s
uccessful only at high cross flow velocities (flux 100 l/m(2).h, TMP 0.5 ba
r, recovery 80%).
The ultrafiltrate showed an excellent quality with the absence of suspended
solids and bacteria. Finally, low costs for energy (NLG 0.02/m(3) (1 NLG =
0.5 US$)) and chemicals (NLG 0.01/m(3)) were calculated. Further optimizat
ion will facilitate the applicability of membrane filtration in the near fu
ture. (C) 1999 IAWQ Published by Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.