Front-face fluorescence excitation-emission matrix (FF-EEM) for direct analysis of flocculated suspension without sample preparation in coagulation-ultrafiltration for wastewater reclamation.

Fluorescence spectroscopy has been suggested as a promising online monitoring technique in water and wastewater treatment processes due to its high sensitivity and selectivity. However, a pre-filtration is still indispensable in fluorescence measurement for removing ubiquitous particles and flocs in real samples to eliminate the strong light scattering that could attenuate fluorescence detection significantly. This study proposed a front-face fluorescence spectroscopy, which could characterize the liquid sample with suspended solids directly without pre-filtration. Front-face excitation-emission matrix (FF-EEM) coupled with parallel factor (PARAFAC) analysis was used for analyzing fluorescence components and to probe coagulation of secondary effluent and fouling in the subsequent ultrafiltration (UF), and conventional right-angle fluorescence EEM (RA-EEM) was also compared. The results showed that FF-EEM was less susceptible to turbidity (induced by standard particles) in the secondary effluent compared to RA-EEM. FF-EEM could successfully measure dissolved fluorophores in coagulated suspension without pre-filtration, while conventional RA-EEM was undermined significantly due to the existing flocs. FF-EEM coupled with PARAFAC could accurately probe dissolved organic matter and fouling in coagulation- UF wastewater reclamation processes. Therefore, it was demonstrated that this front-face fluorescence without any sample preparation step might be highly promising in real-time online fluorescence monitoring in multi water and wastewater treatment processes.