A bench-scale study was performed to optimize backwash frequency and air sparging conditions during ultrafiltration (UF) of natural surface waters in order to maximize water production and minimize irreversible fouling as well as operating and maintenance costs. Surface shear stress representing different air sparging conditions (continuous coarse bubble, discontinuous coarse bubble, and large pulse bubble sparging) was applied in combination with various backwash frequencies (0.5, 2 and 6 h) and fouling was assessed. Results indicated that air sparging with discontinuous coarse bubbles or large pulse bubbles significantly reduced the irreversible fouling rate while providing cost savings when compared to the baseline condition, which assumed a 0.5 h-backwash frequency and no air sparging during filtration. Cost savings were more pronounced at lower backwash frequencies, due to value associated with extra water produced over longer filtration times and longer membrane life resulted from fewer recovery chemical cleans because of lower irreversible fouling.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:TORONTO/oai:tspace.library.utoronto.ca:1807/65576 |
| Date | 26 June 2014 |
| Creators | Li, Lan |
| Contributors | Andrews, Robert C. |
| Source Sets | University of Toronto |
| Language | en_ca |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
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