Advanced Water Management Centre, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, Brisbane, QLD 4072, Australia.
Water Res. 2013 May 15;47(8):2633-42. doi: 10.1016/j.watres.2013.01.043. Epub 2013 Feb 16.
This study aims at comparing low-pressure membrane fouling obtained with two different secondary effluents at bench and pilot-scale based on the determination of two fouling indices: the total fouling index (TFI) and the hydraulically irreversible fouling index (HIFI). The main objective was to investigate if simpler and less costly bench-scale experimentation can substitute for pilot-scale trials when assessing the fouling potential of secondary effluent in large scale membrane filtration plants producing recycled water. Absolute values for specific flux and total fouling index for the bench-scale system were higher than those determined from pilot-scale, nevertheless a statistically significant correlation (r(2) = 0.63, α = 0.1) was obtained for the total fouling index at both scales. On the contrary no such correlation was found for the hydraulically irreversible fouling index. Advanced water characterization tools such as excitation-emission matrix fluorescence spectroscopy (EEM) and liquid chromatography with organic carbon detection (LC-OCD) were used for the characterization of foulants. On the basis of statistical analysis, biopolymers and humic substances were found to be the major contribution to total fouling (r(2) = 0.95 and r(2) = 0.88, respectively). Adsorption of the low molecular weight neutral compounds to the membrane was attributed to hydraulically irreversible fouling (r(2) = 0.67).
本研究旨在通过确定两个污染指数（总污染指数（TFI）和水力不可逆污染指数（HIFI）），比较两种不同二级出水在实验室规模和中试规模下的低压膜污染。主要目的是研究在评估大型膜过滤再生水厂中二级出水的污染潜力时，是否可以用更简单、成本更低的实验室规模试验替代中试试验。实验室规模系统的比通量和总污染指数的绝对值高于从中试获得的值，但在两个规模上均获得了总污染指数的统计学显著相关性（r(2) = 0.63，α = 0.1）。相反，对于水力不可逆污染指数，则未发现这种相关性。高级水质分析工具，如激发-发射矩阵荧光光谱法（EEM）和带有机碳检测的液相色谱法（LC-OCD），用于污染物的特征描述。根据统计分析，发现生物聚合物和腐殖质是总污染的主要贡献者（分别为 r(2) = 0.95 和 r(2) = 0.88）。低分子量中性化合物对膜的吸附归因于水力不可逆污染（r(2) = 0.67）。
