Removal of THMP by nanofiltration: Effects of interference parameters

An experimental investigation is conducted to evaluate the effects of interference parameters on the performance of nanofiltration for removal of trihalomethane precursors (THMPs). The influence of operating pressure, feed THMPs concentration, pH, presence of other ions (Ca2+ and Mg2+), and suspended solids on nanofiltration performance are determined. The effect of membrane precompaction is studied as well. Membrane performance for reversible and irreversible compaction is compared. Pretreated surface water from a pond is used as the feed water in the study to simulate the practical conditions in water treatment industries. Experimental results show that precompacted membrane has a higher rejection capacity. Higher pressure, feed THMP concentration, and suspended solids increase rejection. However, overall flux variation due to these parameters is found to be negligible. On the other hand presence of divalent ions reduce the rejection capacity. Generally rejection is found to be greater than 90% for a precompacted membrane, which turned out to be well suited for industrial scale application of nanofiltration for removal of THMPs.