Fouling mechanisms and reduced chemical potential of ceramic membranes combined with ozone

Combining ceramic membranes with ozonation and allowing ozone residual to contact the membrane surface is well known to control fouling, allowing for higher membrane fluxes. This means that the more robust, longer lasting and higher integrity ceramic material can potentially be used in water recycling in a cost competitive way. This paper presents additional results from a previously reported ozonation/ceramic membrane trial in Melbourne, Australia. The results assisted in understanding the cause of the high fluxes by quenching the residual ozone upstream of the membrane, to isolate its effects on organic species from those on the membrane. Ozone quenching was directly attributed to lost membrane performance which confirmed that ozone has a direct effect on the membrane which contributes to the higher fluxes. Tests to reduce cleaning chemical use (sodium hypochlorite) at high fluxes were also conducted. Sodium hypochlorite consumption generally was not significant, but trading better stability and higher fluxes for reduced chemical use needs to be justified. Ceramic membranes coupled with pre-ozonation exhibit unique properties in water treatment, offering potential advantages such as increased backwash disinfection, as well as higher flux rates or reduced chemical consumption.