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

加拿大的许多自来水设施都受到沸水警告，因为它们的市政水不能安全饮用；许多水处理厂无法满足潜在致癌的氯消毒副产品(THMS)法规。该项目是通过使用膜技术改善水质和减少三氯甲烷的全球战略的一部分。纳滤作为一种能满足日益严格的水质法规和THMS标准的方法已被广泛应用于饮用水处理。*然而，这种方法的一个主要问题是纳滤污染，粗略地定义为由于在膜表面形成不想要的沉积物(即污染层)而造成的性能损失和工厂运行成本的增加。*鉴于加拿大许多地表水源含有高浓度的主要膜污染物，了解污染和污染控制的机制对水处理系统的设计者和所有者来说是最感兴趣的。*拟议研究的总体目标是通过延长膜系统的运行寿命来控制膜污染并显著降低膜系统的运行成本。*在这项提案中，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)使用适用于具有挑战性的地表水过滤的膜的新的膜尸检方法来研究污染机理，2)设计一种可定制的前处理工艺，以形成具有高渗透性的污垢层，以最大限度地减少污垢。*本研究期间将培训两名博士、三名硕士和一些本科生。这些学生将拥有加拿大水处理行业迫切需要的一套独特的技能，特别是在使用膜生产饮用水的应用中。研究生将接受有关应用前沿技术的培训，如小角中子散射(SANS)和具有衰减全反射(ATR)的傅立叶变换红外(FTIR)光谱技术在水处理中的应用。*控制膜过滤器污染将延长过滤器寿命，这将为个别市政当局和水合作社每年节省数百万美元。目前，在对膜过滤最具挑战性的水域上运营的加拿大工厂的所有者就膜尸检和减少膜污染的方法咨询国际公司。这项研究将提供有针对性的战略，以最大限度地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.************