Abstract
The purpose of this study is to evaluate various pre-treatment methods and proprieties of water quality for wastewater reuse using reverse osmosis (RO) processes. Secondary effluents were sampled from wastewater treatment plants and lab scale pre-treatments and RO filtration test were conducted systematically. Specifically, different types of pre-treatments, such as coagulation, microfiltration and ultrafiltration, were employed to evaluate the removal efficiency of particle and organic matters which may affect the membrane fouling rate. RO process was later added to eliminate trace amounts of remaining organic matters and salt from the raw water for wastewater reclamation. The permeate through the RO process satisfied water quality regulations for industrial water uses. The experimental results showed that the initial fouling tendency differed not only by the feed water properties but also by the membrane characteristics. Membrane fouling was greater for the membranes with large surface roughness, regardless of the hydrophobicity and zeta potentials. Thus both careful consideration of pre-treatment options and proper selection of RO membrane are of paramount importance for an efficient operation of wastewater treatment.