Joop C. Kruithof

Biofouling of spiral-wound nanofiltration and reverse osmosis membranes: a feed spacer problem.

Biofouling was studied in full-scale and pilot-scale installations, test-rigs and membrane fouling monitors by conventional methods as well as Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI). Independent of permeate production, the feed spacer channel pressure drop and biomass concentration increased similarly in a nanofiltration pilot installation. In the presence of a feed spacer the absolute feed channel pressure drop increase caused by biomass accumulation was much higher than when a feed spacer was absent: in both spiral-wound nanofiltration and reverse osmosis systems biofouling is dominantly a feed spacer problem. This conclusion is based on (i) in-situ visual observations of the fouling accumulation, (ii) in-situ non-destructive observations of the fouling accumulation and velocity distribution profiles using MRI, and (iii) differences in pressure drop and biomass development in monitors with and without feed spacer. MRI studies showed that even a restricted biofilm accumulation on the feed channel spacer influenced the velocity distribution profile strongly. Biofouling control should be focused on the development of low fouling feed spacers and hydrodynamic conditions to restrict the impact of biomass accumulation on the feed channel pressure drop increase.

Quantitative biofouling diagnosis in full scale nanofiltration and reverse osmosis installations.

Biofilm accumulation in nanofiltration and reverse osmosis membrane elements results in a relative increase of normalised pressure drop (DeltaNPD). However, an increase in DeltaNPD is not exclusively linked to biofouling. In order to quantify biofouling, the biomass parameters adenosine triphosphate (ATP), total cell count and heterotrophic plate count in membrane elements were investigated during membrane autopsies and compared with DeltaNPD in test rigs and 15 full scale investigations with different types of feed water. The combination of biomass related parameters ATP and total cell count in membrane elements seem to be suitable parameters for diagnosis of biofouling, whereas plate counts were not appropriate to assess biofouling. The applied DeltaNPD measurement was too insensitive for early detection of fouling. Measurements of biological parameters in the water were shown to be not appropriate in quantifying biofouling. Evidently, there is a need for a practical tool, sensitive pressure drop data and systematic research.

UV/H2O2 Treatment: A Practical Solution for Organic Contaminant Control and Primary Disinfection

PWNs water treatment plant Andijk was commissioned almost 40 years ago. It services water from the IJssel Lake by conventional surface water treatment. In view of taste and odor problems the plant was retrofitted with GAC filtration 25 years ago. The finished water quality still complies with all E.C. and Dutch drinking water standards. Nevertheless an upgrade is desired to avoid the use of chlorine and to extend the barriers against pathogenic micro-organisms and a broad range of organic micropollutants such as pesticides, rocket fuel by-products (NDMA), fuel oxygenates (MTBE), solvents (dioxane), endocrine disruptors, algae toxins, pharmaceuticals, etc. UV/H2O2 treatment was selected for both primary disinfection and organic contaminant control. The disinfection requirements were based on a 10−4 health risk. The required 3 log inactivation for Giardia and Cryptosporidium was achieved by an UV dose lower than 20 mJ/cm2. The highest UV dose, 105 mJ/cm2, was needed for the inactivation of spores of Sulphite Reducing Clostridia. Reactivation of protozoa was established for UV doses up to 25 mJ/cm2, for doses higher than 45 mJ/cm2 no reactivation was observed. In view of the raw water concentrations the required organic contaminant degradation was set at 80%. Collimated beam and pilot-plant work showed that the required degradation can be achieved by the proper combination of electric energy and H2O2. In a UV reactor optimized for organic contaminant control, UV dose of 540 mJ/cm2 (about 0.5 kWh/m3) and 6 mg/L H2O2 were needed. Under those conditions pesticides (atrazine), NDMA, MTBE, dioxane, endocrine disruptors (bisphenol A), microcystine and pharmaceuticals (diclofenac, ibuprofen) could be removed up to the required 80%. Bromate formation was absent while formation of primary metabolites was insignificant. The UV dose for organic contaminant control is about five times higher than the dose needed for disinfection. The UV/H2O2 process was implemented into the existing treatment train between the sand and GAC filters. In the GAC filters excess H2O2 is degraded, nitrite is converted into nitrate and biodegradable reaction products are consumed by bacteria. The full-scale installation with 3 streets of 4 Trojan Swift 16L30 reactors has been in operation since October 2004. Disinfection and organic contaminant control are as expected.

Pressure drop increase by biofilm accumulation in spiral wound RO and NF membrane systems: role of substrate concentration, flow velocity, substrate load and flow direction

In an earlier study, it was shown that biofouling predominantly is a feed spacer channel problem. In this article, pressure drop development and biofilm accumulation in membrane fouling simulators have been studied without permeate production as a function of the process parameters substrate concentration, linear flow velocity, substrate load and flow direction. At the applied substrate concentration range, 100–400 μg l−1 as acetate carbon, a higher concentration caused a faster and greater pressure drop increase and a greater accumulation of biomass. Within the range of linear flow velocities as applied in practice, a higher linear flow velocity resulted in a higher initial pressure drop in addition to a more rapid and greater pressure drop increase and biomass accumulation. Reduction of the linear flow velocity resulted in an instantaneous reduction of the pressure drop caused by the accumulated biomass, without changing the biofilm concentration. A higher substrate load (product of substrate concentration and flow velocity) was related to biomass accumulation. The effect of the same amount of accumulated biomass on the pressure drop increase was related to the linear flow velocity. A decrease of substrate load caused a gradual decline in time of both biomass concentration and pressure drop increase. It was concluded that the pressure drop increase over spiral wound reverse osmosis (RO) and nanofiltration (NF) membrane systems can be reduced by lowering both substrate load and linear flow velocity. There is a need for RO and NF systems with a low pressure drop increase irrespective of the biomass formation. Current efforts to control biofouling of spiral wound membranes focus in addition to pretreatment on membrane improvement. According to these authors, adaptation of the hydrodynamics, spacers and pressure vessel configuration offer promising alternatives. Additional approaches may be replacing heavily biofouled elements and flow direction reversal.

The reduction of bromate by granular activated carbon

Abstract The removal of bromate, an inorganic disinfection by-product, by granular activated carbon (GAC) was investigated in this study. Bromate ion removal from water was observed in the presence of virgin and acid-washed outgassed (AWOG) GAC. In a GAC filter with distilled-deionized water, bromate breakthrough occurred slowly whereas bromate breakthrough occurred very quickly in natural water due to the presence of natural organic matter (NOM) and other anions. NOM adsorption decreased bromate reduction, presumably by blocking bromate reduction sites. The use of a biologically active carbon (BAC) filter with ozonated water, as a pretreatment step to remove NOM, only slightly improved bromate reduction in the subsequent fresh GAC filter. Kinetic studies showed that the presence of chloride, sulfate, bromide, and nitrate causes a decrease in the kinetics of bromate reduction by GAC. These anions may occupy ion exchange sites on the carbon, reducing the rate at which bromate can access the reduction sites. However, when the anions were released from the carbon, the bromate reduction rate increased.

Phosphate limitation to control biofouling.

Phosphate limitation as a method to control biofouling of spiral wound reverse osmosis (RO) membranes was studied at a full-scale installation fed with extensively pretreated water. The RO installation is characterized by (i) a low feed channel pressure drop increase and (ii) low biomass concentrations in membrane elements at the installation feed side. This installation contrasted sharply with installations fed with less extensively pretreated feed water (and therefore higher phosphate concentrations) experiencing a high-pressure drop increase and high biomass concentrations in lead elements. Membrane fouling simulator (MFS) studies showed that low phosphate concentrations (approximately 0.3 microg P L(-1)) in the feed water restricted the pressure drop increase and biomass accumulation, even at high substrate (organic carbon) concentrations. In the MFS under ortho-phosphate limiting conditions, dosing phosphonate based antiscalants caused biofouling while no biofouling was observed when acids or phosphonate-free antiscalants were used. Antiscalant dosage could increase both phosphate and substrate concentrations of the water. Therefore, antiscalant selection may be critical for biofouling control. Since no biofouling was observed at low phosphate concentrations, restricting biomass growth by phosphate limitation may be a feasible approach to control biofouling, even in the presence of high organic carbon levels.

Removal of pesticides and other micropollutants with cellulose-acetate, polyamide and ultra-low pressure reverse osmosis membranes

Abstract In 1995 several membrane manufacturers started to sell ultra low-pressure reverse osmosis membranes. The specifications of these membranes indicated that they have rejections for dissolved salts comparable to “conventional” composite (polyamide) membranes, while the required feed pressure to realize a specific production capacity is 30–40% less. This article describes the results of a preliminary study on the performance of these new membranes. The results showed that the rejections and productivity as specified by the manufacturers could be reproduced. Also the results of the spiking experiments with organic micropollutants showed that the ultra low pressure membranes have excellent properties to remove these compounds from water. NV PWN Water Supply Company of North Holland selected these membranes for their new water treatment plant Heemskerk when previously it was determined that cellulose acetate membranes were not suitable for the removal of organic micropollutants.

Impact of flow regime on pressure drop increase and biomass accumulation and morphology in membrane systems

Biomass accumulation and pressure drop development have been studied in membrane fouling simulators at different flow regimes. At linear flow velocities as applied in practice in spiral wound nanofiltration (NF) and reverse osmosis (RO) membranes, voluminous and filamentous biofilm structures developed in the feed spacer channel, causing a significant increase in feed channel pressure drop. Elevated shear by both single phase flow (water) and two phase flow (water with air sparging: bubble flow) caused biofilm filaments and a pressure drop increase. The amount of accumulated biomass was independent of the applied shear, depending on the substrate loading rate (product of substrate concentration and linear flow velocity) only. The biofilm streamers oscillated in the passing water. Bubble flow resulted in a more compact and less filamentous biofilm structure than single phase flow, causing a much lower pressure drop increase. The biofilm grown under low shear conditions was more easy to remove during water flushing compared to a biofilm grown under high shear. To control biofouling, biofilm structure may be adjusted using biofilm morphology engineering combined with biomass removal from membrane elements by periodic reverse flushing using modified feed spacers. Potential long and short term consequences of flow regimes on biofilm development are discussed. Flow regimes manipulate biofilm morphology affecting membrane performance, enabling new approaches to control biofouling.

In-situ biofilm characterization in membrane systems using Optical Coherence Tomography: formation, structure, detachment and impact of flux change.

Biofouling causes performance loss in spiral wound nanofiltration (NF) and reverse osmosis (RO) membrane operation for process and drinking water production. The development of biofilm formation, structure and detachment was studied in-situ, non-destructively with Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) in direct relation with the hydraulic biofilm resistance and membrane performance parameters: transmembrane pressure drop (TMP) and feed-channel pressure drop (FCP). The objective was to evaluate the suitability of OCT for biofouling studies, applying a membrane biofouling test cell operated at constant crossflow velocity (0.1 m s(-1)) and permeate flux (20 L m(-2)h(-1)). In time, the biofilm thickness on the membrane increased continuously causing a decline in membrane performance. Local biofilm detachment was observed at the biofilm-membrane interface. A mature biofilm was subjected to permeate flux variation (20 to 60 to 20 L m(-2)h(-1)). An increase in permeate flux caused a decrease in biofilm thickness and an increase in biofilm resistance, indicating biofilm compaction. Restoring the original permeate flux did not completely restore the original biofilm parameters: After elevated flux operation the biofilm thickness was reduced to 75% and the hydraulic resistance increased to 116% of the original values. Therefore, after a temporarily permeate flux increase the impact of the biofilm on membrane performance was stronger. OCT imaging of the biofilm with increased permeate flux revealed that the biofilm became compacted, lost internal voids, and became more dense. Therefore, membrane performance losses were not only related to biofilm thickness but also to the internal biofilm structure, e.g. caused by changes in pressure. Optical Coherence Tomography proved to be a suitable tool for quantitative in-situ biofilm thickness and morphology studies which can be carried out non-destructively and in real-time in transparent membrane biofouling monitors.

A novel scenario for biofouling control of spiral wound membrane systems

Current strategies to control biofouling in nanofiltration and reverse osmosis membrane systems such as chemical cleaning and use of low fouling membranes are not always successful. Based on recent studies, an alternative approach is derived, combining a lower linear flow velocity in lead modules and adapted designs for feed spacer with an advanced cleaning strategy. This approach can be realized by small adaptations in current plant design. A lower linear flow velocity in lead spiral wound membrane modules results in (i) lower energy use, (ii) lower impact of biomass on the feed channel pressure drop, and (iii) more fluffy biofilm that may be easier to remove from the lead membrane modules, especially when adapted feed spacers combined with a reversed enhanced flush are applied. This rational scenario can result in effective biofouling control at low energy requirements, minimal chemical use and minimal cost.