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Increasing freshwater scarcity across the world means that wastewater reclamation is being considered as a key method in which to meet the growing demand. Evolution of water reuse schemes where high quality product is required such as for indirect potable reuse has led to the adoption in recent years of the integrated membrane scheme using a combination of microfiltration or ultrafiltration with reverse osmosis membrane. However, despite technological advancements, these membranes are still prone to fouling resulting in increased costs through cleaning or replacement. This thesis aims to look at pretreatment to reduce the fouling propensity of the microfiltration membranes via a 600m3 /d pilot plant which was commissioned to investigate indirect potable reuse. A range of pretreatments including pre-screening, pre-coagulation, powdered activated carbon and granular activated carbon were assessed based on fouling amelioration, water quality improvement and cost analysis. Results showed that ferric sulphate dosing was the most effective in terms of reducing the reversible fouling rate especially at high turbidity loads enabling higher flux to be realised leading to a small cost benefit. Activated carbon proved the most effective pretreatment in terms of organic removal and a significant reduction in the irreversible fouling rate. However, the cost involved in using this as a pretreatment is significant compared to possible cost savings through reduced requirement for chemical cleaning. This pretreatment is only viable if it obviates the need for a separate organic removal process.

Um sistema de tratamento constituído de um reator anaeróbio de mistura completa e um reator anaeróbio compartimentado (ABR) foi operado durante 140 dias para estudar os efeitos do pré-tratamento das águas residuárias de uma indústria química, por carvão ativado em pó (CAP), e suas implicações nos processos de nitrificação e desnitrificação. Utilizou-se, no pré-tratamento do resíduo, duas concentrações de carvão ativado em pó. Para aplicação de 10 mg/l de CAP a remoção de DQO foi de 60% e a de NTK foi de 50%. Nesta fase, os processos de remoção de nitrogênio foram plenamente viabilizados. Para 5 mg/l de CAP a remoção de DQO foi de 44% e a remoção de NTK 46%, neste período se observou inibição por metais pesados e acúmulo de nitrito no sistema. / A treatment system composed of both an aerobic complete-mix reactor and a anaerobic baftled reactor (ABR) was operated for 140 days to study the effects of the treatment of wastewater chemical industry by powdered activate carbon (PAC) and its implications in nitrification - denitrification processes. In the residue preliminary treatment, two concentrations of PAC were used. For the application of 10 mg/l of CAP the removal of COD was 60% and the removal of TKN was 50%. In this phase, the processes of nitrogen removal were possible to be completely carried out. For 5 mg/l of CAP, the removal of COD was 44% and the removal of TKN 46%. In this period, the inhibition by heavy metaIs and nitrite accumulation in the system was observed.

Um sistema de tratamento constituído de um reator anaeróbio de mistura completa e um reator anaeróbio compartimentado (ABR) foi operado durante 140 dias para estudar os efeitos do pré-tratamento das águas residuárias de uma indústria química, por carvão ativado em pó (CAP), e suas implicações nos processos de nitrificação e desnitrificação. Utilizou-se, no pré-tratamento do resíduo, duas concentrações de carvão ativado em pó. Para aplicação de 10 mg/l de CAP a remoção de DQO foi de 60% e a de NTK foi de 50%. Nesta fase, os processos de remoção de nitrogênio foram plenamente viabilizados. Para 5 mg/l de CAP a remoção de DQO foi de 44% e a remoção de NTK 46%, neste período se observou inibição por metais pesados e acúmulo de nitrito no sistema. / A treatment system composed of both an aerobic complete-mix reactor and a anaerobic baftled reactor (ABR) was operated for 140 days to study the effects of the treatment of wastewater chemical industry by powdered activate carbon (PAC) and its implications in nitrification - denitrification processes. In the residue preliminary treatment, two concentrations of PAC were used. For the application of 10 mg/l of CAP the removal of COD was 60% and the removal of TKN was 50%. In this phase, the processes of nitrogen removal were possible to be completely carried out. For 5 mg/l of CAP, the removal of COD was 44% and the removal of TKN 46%. In this period, the inhibition by heavy metaIs and nitrite accumulation in the system was observed.

La dégradation des ressources en eaux par la présence de matières organiques (MO) et de micropolluants nécessite la mise en œuvre de procédés de production d’eau potable robustes. Dans ce contexte, de nombreuses municipalités françaises comme Saint Cloud et Angers ont décidé d’implanter un procédé d’adsorption sur charbon actif en poudre couplé à l’ultrafiltration (CAP/UF). Le CAP est utilisé en amont des membranes afin d’éliminer les traces de micropolluants tandis que les membranes d’UF assurent une qualité d’eau produite excellente et constante au cours du temps. Cependant, les retours d’expérience montrent une dégradation des performances de séparation liée notamment à un vieillissement des matériaux membranaires ainsi qu’une vulnérabilité du procédé vis-à-vis de certains micropolluants émergents tels que les composés organiques polaires (PMOCs). Les travaux réalisés au cours de cette thèse visent à mieux comprendre les conséquences du vieillissement chimique des membranes utilisées dans ces procédés et d’évaluer l’efficacité d’élimination de micropolluants afin de proposer des voies d’optimisation. Plus particulièrement il a été montré que la cause principale de vieillissement est l’exposition au chlore des membranes durant les phases de lavage modifiant les propriétés des matériaux. En effet, les nombreux outils de caractérisation utilisés ont permis de mettre en évidence une corrélation entre la dégradation de l’agent hydrophile des membranes et l'augmentation de la perméabilité lors de l'exposition au chlore. L’étude des performances membranaires a mis en évidence une altération de la résistance au colmatage vis-à-vis de la MO pour les membranes exposées au chlore. Cependant les résultats obtenus pour évaluer les performances de sélectivité des membranes vis-à-vis de virus n’ont pas souligné d’altérations majeures. Les essais d’adsorption ont démontré l’efficacité limitée du CAP pour la rétention des PMOCs. En effet, parmi les molécules testées, les molécules aromatiques les plus hydrophobes sont efficacement adsorbées par le CAP tandis que les plus polaires sont peu éliminées. Finalement, l’utilisation de la nanofiltration ou l’osmose basse pression, présentant des taux de rétention en moyenne supérieurs à 90%, en font des solutions techniques de choix pour l’élimination des PMOCs. / The degradation of water resources by the presence of organic matter (OM) and micropollutants requires the implementation of robust drinking water production processes. In this context, many French municipalities such as Saint Cloud and Angers have decided to set up a powdered activated carbon adsorption process coupled to ultrafiltration (PAC/UF). PAC is used upstream of membranes to remove traces of micropollutants while UF membranes provide excellent and constant water quality over time. However, the feedback reveals a degradation of the separation performances related in particular to an aging of the membrane materials and a vulnerability of the process towards some emerging micropollutants such as polar organic compounds (PMOCs).The work carried out during this thesis aims to better understand the consequences of the chemical aging of the membranes used in these processes and to evaluate the micropollutants removal efficiency in order to propose optimization ways. More particularly it has been shown that the main cause of aging is the chlorine exposure of the membranes during washing phases modifying the properties of the materials. In fact, the numerous characterization tools used have made it possible to demonstrate a correlation between the degradation of the hydrophilic agent of the membranes and the increase in the permeability during exposure to chlorine. The study of the membrane performances revealed an alteration of the resistance to fouling towards OM for membranes exposed to chlorine. However, the results obtained to evaluate the selectivity performance of the membranes with respect to viruses have not underlined any major alterations. Adsorption tests have demonstrated the limited efficiency of PAC for PMOCs removal. Indeed, among the molecules tested, the most hydrophobic and aromatic molecules are effectively adsorbed on PAC while the more polar ones are slightly adsorbed. Finally, the use of nanofiltration or low-pressure reverse osmosis, with average rejection rates over 90%, makes them the technological solutions of choice for the removal of PMOCs.