Chemical Cleaning of Ultrafiltration Membrane Fouled by Humic Substances: Comparison between Hydrogen Peroxide and Sodium Hypochlorite

Kai Li, Shu Li, Tinglin Huang, Chongzhe Dong, Jiawei Li, Bo Zhao and Shujia Zhang
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Kai Li: Key Laboratory of Northwest Water Resource, Environment and Ecology, MOE, Xi’an University of Architecture and Technology, Xi’an 710055, China
Shu Li: Key Laboratory of Northwest Water Resource, Environment and Ecology, MOE, Xi’an University of Architecture and Technology, Xi’an 710055, China
Tinglin Huang: Key Laboratory of Northwest Water Resource, Environment and Ecology, MOE, Xi’an University of Architecture and Technology, Xi’an 710055, China
Chongzhe Dong: Key Laboratory of Northwest Water Resource, Environment and Ecology, MOE, Xi’an University of Architecture and Technology, Xi’an 710055, China
Jiawei Li: Key Laboratory of Northwest Water Resource, Environment and Ecology, MOE, Xi’an University of Architecture and Technology, Xi’an 710055, China
Bo Zhao: Key Laboratory of Northwest Water Resource, Environment and Ecology, MOE, Xi’an University of Architecture and Technology, Xi’an 710055, China
Shujia Zhang: Key Laboratory of Northwest Water Resource, Environment and Ecology, MOE, Xi’an University of Architecture and Technology, Xi’an 710055, China

IJERPH, 2019, vol. 16, issue 14, 1-11

Abstract: Chemical cleaning is indispensable for the sustainable operation of ultrafiltration (UF) system in water and wastewater treatment. Sodium hypochlorite (NaClO) is an established cleaning agent for membranes subject to organic and microbial fouling, but concerns have been raised about the generation of toxic halogenated by-products during NaClO cleaning. Hydrogen peroxide (H 2 O 2 ) is a potential “green” cleaning agent that can avoid the formation of halogenated by-products. In this work, cleaning efficacy of H 2 O 2 and NaClO for UF membrane fouled by humic substances (HS) was evaluated under a wide pH range, and change of HS’s properties due to reaction with cleaning agents was examined. The cleaning efficacy of H 2 O 2 was lower than that of NaClO at pH 3–9, but it increased to a level (91.4%) comparable with that of NaClO at pH 11. The extents of changes in properties and fouling potential of HS due to reacting with cleaning agents were consistent with their cleaning efficacy. H 2 O 2 treatment at pH 11 significantly increased negative charge of HS molecules, decomposed high-MW molecules, and reduced its fouling potential. Therefore, considering treatment/disposal of cleaning waste and cleaning efficacy, H 2 O 2 cleaning under strong alkaline condition can be a good choice for HS-fouled membrane.

Keywords: ultrafiltration (UF) membrane; humic substances (HS) fouling; chemical cleaning; hydrogen peroxide (H 2 O 2 ); sodium hypochlorite (NaClO) (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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