Membrane Filtration of Challenging Surface Waters- Design of Pre-treatment Based on the Structure of Membrane Fouling Layer

加拿大的许多供水设施都处于沸水警报之下，因为他们的市政用水不安全；许多水处理厂无法满足潜在致癌的氯消毒副产物（THMs）法规。该项目是通过使用膜技术改善水质和减少THMs的全球战略的一部分。纳滤作为一种能够满足日益严格的水质法规和THMs标准的方法，在饮用水处理中得到了广泛的应用。****然而，这种方法的一个主要问题是NF污染，它被粗略地定义为由于在膜表面形成不良沉积物（即污染层）而导致性能损失和工厂运行成本增加。****考虑到加拿大的许多地表水水源含有高浓度的主要膜污染物，了解污染的机制和污染控制对水处理系统的设计者和所有者来说是最感兴趣的。****所提出的研究的总体目标是通过增加膜系统的使用寿命来控制膜污染并显着降低膜系统的运行成本。****在本提案中，我将解决两个子目标，这将有助于推进我的整体研究计划：1)使用适用于过滤具有挑战性的地表水的膜的新膜解剖方法研究污染机制，2)设计一个可定制的预处理过程，这将导致形成具有高渗透性的污染层，以尽量减少污染。****本次研究将培养博士2人，硕士3人，本科生若干人。这些学生将拥有加拿大水处理行业急需的一套独特的技能，特别是在使用膜生产饮用水的应用中。研究生将接受小角中子散射（SANS）和衰减全反射傅立叶变换红外（FTIR）光谱（ATR）等前沿技术在水处理中的应用培训。****膜过滤器污染的控制将增加过滤器的寿命，这将导致每年数百万美元的节省，个别市政当局和水合作社。目前，在对膜过滤最具挑战性的水域运营的加拿大工厂的所有者向国际公司咨询膜解剖和减少膜污染的方法。这项研究将提供有针对性的策略，以尽量减少在加拿大水域运行的膜的污染。************

Many water facilities in Canada are under boil water advisories because their municipal water is not safe to drink; numerous water treatment plants are not able to meet the potentially carcinogenic chlorine disinfection by-products (THMs) regulations. This project is a part of a global strategy to improve water quality and decrease THMs by the use of membrane technology. Nanofiltration (NF) has become widely used in potable water treatment as a method that can meet increasingly stringent water quality regulations and THMs standards.****However, a major problem with this approach is NF fouling, which is loosely defined as the loss of performance and increase in plant operation cost due to formation of undesirable deposits (i.e. fouling layer) on the membrane surface.****Given that many surface water sources in Canada contain major membrane foulants in high concentrations, understanding the mechanism of fouling and fouling control is of utmost interest to the designers and owners of water treatment systems.****The overall objective of the proposed research is to control membrane fouling and significantly reduce operating costs of membrane systems by increasing their operational life.****In this proposal, I will address two sub-objectives that will help to advance my overall research program: 1) study fouling mechanisms using new membrane autopsy methods that are applicable to membranes used for filtration of challenging surface waters, and 2) design a customizable pre-treatment process that will lead to the formation of a fouling layer with high permeability to minimize fouling.****Two doctoral, three masters and a number of undergraduate students will be trained during this research. These students will have a unique set of skills that is urgently needed in the Canadian water treatment industry, particularly in applications where membranes are being used to produce drinking water. The graduate students will be trained on the application of leading edge technologies such as, Small Angle Neutron Scattering (SANS) and Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) Spectroscopy with an Attenuated Total Reflectance (ATR) for water treatment.****Control of membrane filter fouling will increase filter life, which will result in millions of dollars in savings each year to individual municipalities and water co-operatives. Currently, owners of Canadian plants operating on waters most challenging to membrane filtration consult with international companies on membrane autopsies and methods to reduce membrane fouling. This research will provide targeted strategies to minimize fouling of membranes operating on Canadian waters.************