Challenge tests with virus surrogates: an accurate membrane integrity evaluation system?

Abstract The use of membrane filtration in drinking water treatment has significantly increased in the last decades due to its advantages, including its capacity to produce water of high quality with a high level of pathogens rejection. However, if membrane integrity is compromised, this feature cannot be guaranteed, increasing the associated microbial risk of the treated water. This study has focused on the development and application of a protocol based on virus surrogates challenge tests applicable to the three existing ultrafiltration (UF) configurations. The operational conditions have been defined, and the tests have been conducted successfully. The selected micro-organisms, PDR-1, MS-2, GA and Bacillus spores, present different characteristics providing complementary information of membrane integrity and its status. In particular, PDR-1 and Bacillus spores, due to their larger size, are mainly removed by size exclusion and low removal rates may indicate membrane impairment. MS-2 and GA, 25 nm in si...