Journal of Water and Wastewater Science and Engineering

Journal of Water and Wastewater Science and Engineering

Performance Evaluation of Ceramic Membranes in the Pre-treatment of Reverse Osmosis for the Removal of Suspended Solids and Organic Matter from Well Water

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors
1 M.Sc., Department of Chemical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Golestan University, Aliabad Katoul, Iran.
2 Assistant Professor, Department of Chemical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Golestan University, Aliabad Katoul, Iran.
Abstract
This study evaluates the effectiveness of ceramic membranes in the pre-treatment of Reverse Osmosis (RO) systems for the removal of suspended solids and organic matter from well water. Initially, the Silt Density Index (SDI) was measured without chemical injection, using only a multimedia filter containing activated carbon to assess the quality of the feed water entering the RO unit. This resulted in an SDI value of 4.9, exceeding the threshold of 3, which indicates poor water quality that could elevate fouling potential and reduce the lifespan of the RO unit. A combined pre-treatment strategy, comprising aeration, ferric chloride injection, extended retention time in the sedimentation basin, and final filtration through a ceramic membrane with a pore size of 0.1 microns, successfully reduced the SDI to 0.1. This approach significantly lowered the iron content from 0.11 to 0.05 ppm, Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) from 35 to 29.78 ppm, Biological Oxygen Demand (BOD) from 15.8 to 10.58 ppm, Total Suspended Solids (TSS) from 117 to 1 ppm, and turbidity from 15 to 0.5 NTU.
Keywords

 
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Volume 9, Issue 4
Winter 2025
Pages 37-56

  • Receive Date 24 June 2024
  • Revise Date 07 August 2024
  • Accept Date 21 August 2024