Ceramic membranes have been used in the industrial production of beer, wine and cheese. One of the reasons for this use is the narrow pore size distribution, where careful separation of different size compounds can be achieved. Outside of Japan, the use of ceramic membranes has been almost non-existent for municipal drinking-water systems. The slow adoption of this technology is largely the result of a perception by many that the costs are significantly higher. While the capital costs may be higher, the whole life cycle costs may not be, due to extended membrane life and more reliable operation. Most water reuse today takes the form of indirect potable reuse. These schemes frequently consist of several steps including physical and chemical disinfection and advanced oxidation. They have the disadvantage of high cost and often poor membrane fluxes due to the nature of the wastewater being treated. The study outlined in this article is preliminary, but shows that ozone in conjunction with ceramic membranes for water-reuse applications has many advantages when disinfection and advanced oxidation is required. As opposed to polymeric membrane systems that cannot tolerate ozone, ceramic membranes in conjunction with ozone can achieve multiple key objectives in one step. This article appeared in the May/June issue of D&WR magazine.
Ceramic membranes have been used in the industrial production of beer, wine and cheese. One of the reasons for this use is the narrow pore size distribution, where careful separation of different size compounds can be achieved.
Outside of Japan, the use of ceramic membranes has been almost non-existent for municipal drinking-water systems. The slow adoption of this technology is largely the result of a perception by many that the costs are significantly higher. While the capital costs may be higher, the whole life cycle costs may not be, due to extended membrane life and more reliable operation.
Most water reuse today takes the form of indirect potable reuse. These schemes frequently consist of several steps including physical and chemical disinfection and advanced oxidation. They have the disadvantage of high cost and often poor membrane fluxes due to the nature of the wastewater being treated.
The study outlined in this article is preliminary, but shows that ozone in conjunction with ceramic membranes for water-reuse applications has many advantages when disinfection and advanced oxidation is required. As opposed to polymeric membrane systems that cannot tolerate ozone, ceramic membranes in conjunction with ozone can achieve multiple key objectives in one step.
This article appeared in the May/June issue of D&WR magazine.