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This pilot-scale study has examined theability of rapid biofiltration (without prior coagulation) to reduce fouling of a ultrafiltration (UF)membrane treating an agriculturally and municipally impacted river. Earlier smallerscale and shorter duration studies demonstrated the viability of this "green" and robustpretreatment approach and this study provides confirmation at pilot scale.Three different biofilter empty bed contact times (EBCTs) (5, 10 and 15 min)were investigated, using parallel dual-media filters. The hollow fiber membrane unit(ZW-10) was operated at constant flux. Only one membrane unit was available andexperiments with a run time of at least 200 h were therefore conducted sequentially.Results indicate a beneficial effect of biofiltration pretreatment on the rate ofirreversible fouling, with increased EBCTs leading to lower rates of fouling. Theseresults were reproducible, as demonstrated by the general similarity in the TMPslopes when repeating an experiment using the biofilter with the EBCT of 15 min.The biofilters also provided effective turbidity removal (i.e. mean effluent turbidities 1 NTU). Includes 12 references, tables, figures.

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Edition: Vol. - No. Published: 11/01/2009 Number of Pages: 9File Size: 1 file , 1000 KB