Effect of membrane support material on permeability in the microfiltrationof brining wastewater

The cross-flow microfiltration (MF) of brining wastewater was conducted aft er chemical pretreatment with the goal of reusing the treated wastewater. T he effect of membrane support material on permeability was investigated in terms of flux decline and recovery with permeate or acid back-washing. Duri ng the MF of pretreated brining wastewater, there was little flux improveme nt for the Zr/C membrane as a result of back-washing, although the back-was hing for the other types of polymeric and ceramic membranes used always enh anced the recovery of the permeate flux. The significance of membrane fouli ng for the Zr/C membrane was demonstrated via an evaluation of the hydrauli c resistances after MF with back-washing, suggesting that membrane fouling was greatly dependent on the support material as well as the skin material. The carbon support of the Zr/C membrane played an important role in nullif ying the effectiveness of backwashing because the carbon support was able t o sorb organic matter during MF with back-washing, resulting in an increase in irreversible membrane fouling. From these findings, it is clear that th e membrane support material must be taken into account in elucidating the b ehavior of membrane fouling and the flux recovery by back-washing during MF .