Characterization and influence of floc under different coagulation systems on ultrafiltration membrane fouling

A hybrid system was developed in this study consisting of different coagulation systems and ultrafiltration (UF). Property and effect of flocs formed in different coagulation systems on ultrafiltration membrane fouling control were investigated. All three coagulation systems, as pretreatment of UF, were effective in improving membrane flux and reducing membrane resistance within an appropriate range of natural organic matters (NOM) concentration. At high initial NOM concentration, the performance of polyaluminum chloride (PAC) on NOM removal and fouling control was severely limited. For PAC-poly dimethyl diallyl ammonium chloride (PAC-PolyDMDAAC) coagulation system, the limitation of initial NOM concentration on removing NOM and alleviating membrane fouling was slightly weakened, indicating composite flocculant PAC-PolyDMDAAC produced larger flocs through combined action of charge neutralization and adsorption bridging. In PAC + PolyDMDAAC dual coagulation system, the combined action of adsorption-bridging effect, sweeping effect, and charge neutralization were the mechanisms under both low and high initial NOM concentration. Although the flocs formed in PAC + PolyDMDAAC dual coagulation system had poor recovery ability compared with those formed in PAC and PAC-PolyDMDAAC coagulation system, flocs formed through adsorption-bridging and sweeping had large size and higher ability to resist shear force, resulting in the formation of cake layer with porous and fluffy structure and less blockage in membrane pore in PAC + PolyDMDAAC dual coagulation system. These results demonstrated that dual coagulation system combined PAC coagulation and PolyDMDAAC flocculation as a pretreatment of UF process can improve the characteristics of flocs and structure of cake layer for improving NOM removal and controlling membrane fouling.