AWWA MTC53866

Successful integration of coagulation and membrane filtration requires an understanding of thechange in membrane performance resulting from the upstream process, and reliable data on theseeffects is limited. Furthermore, fundamental aspects of membrane performance related tofouling remain poorly understood despite the rapid acceptance of membrane filtration. Thepurposes of this research are to: quantify the effect of coagulation pretreatment on membraneperformance; characterize the natural organic matter (NOM) and explore whether any relationships emerge betweenNOM parameters and membrane performance; and, explore the mechanisms by whichcoagulation affects membrane fouling. This research is in progress, and this manuscript providesa report on the data developed so far. The primary focus of this manuscript is to quantify theeffect of coagulation pretreatment on membrane performance with three surface waters and threemembrane materials.Membrane performance was determined by measuring flux decline during constant-pressurefiltration using bench-scale membrane filtration cells. Reversible and non-reversible fouling wascharacterized by measuring clean-water flux after rinsing and chemically cleaning themembrane. The impact of coagulation conditions and NOM characteristics is related tomembrane performance based on flux decline and reversibility of fouling. Includes 11 references, tables, figures.