Study on an Integrated Water Treatment System by Simultaneously Coupling Granular Activated Carbon (GAC) and Powdered Carbon with Ultrafiltration

The process of using powdered activated carbon (PAC) in conjunction with ultrafiltration (UF) has been widely adopted for the treatment of various types of water and wastewater. However, during the application of this integrated PAC-UF process, PAC tends to adhere significantly to the surface of the...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Yi Wang, Sijia Yu, Weiwei Cai
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2024-10-01
Series:Separations
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2297-8739/11/11/312
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1850227899513176064
author Yi Wang
Sijia Yu
Weiwei Cai
author_facet Yi Wang
Sijia Yu
Weiwei Cai
author_sort Yi Wang
collection DOAJ
description The process of using powdered activated carbon (PAC) in conjunction with ultrafiltration (UF) has been widely adopted for the treatment of various types of water and wastewater. However, during the application of this integrated PAC-UF process, PAC tends to adhere significantly to the surface of the UF membrane, which exacerbates membrane fouling. To tackle this issue, this study proposed an innovative water treatment approach that simultaneously integrated granular activated carbon (GAC) and PAC/biochar with UF. In this setup, PAC/biochar was intended to enhance water quality, while the fluidized GAC particles were aimed at reducing membrane fouling and the deposition of PAC/biochar on the membrane surface. We systematically analyzed the operational performance of the integrated systems concerning fouling formation, PAC/biochar attachment, effluent quality, and foulant components. The results indicate that both PAC and biochar effectively improved effluent quality in terms of chemical oxygen demand (COD) and hardness, although they significantly deposited on the membrane surface during operation. Notably, PAC was more prone to attach to the membrane than biochar, and the fouling in biochar-UF systems was primarily attributed to the attachment of organic foulants rather than biochar itself. By combining with GAC, up to 46.01% of membrane fouling and 96.11% of PAC/biochar attachment were mitigated due to the strong mechanical action of the fluidized GAC particles. Importantly, the inclusion of fluidized GAC did not significantly affect effluent quality. Consequently, the GAC-PAC/biochar systems proposed in this study demonstrated dual benefits of improving effluent quality and ensuring stable operation, thereby providing a viable solution for efficient and sustainable water treatment.
format Article
id doaj-art-d93ca5a0223b45ed8d754ea1bc7f0a8b
institution OA Journals
issn 2297-8739
language English
publishDate 2024-10-01
publisher MDPI AG
record_format Article
series Separations
spelling doaj-art-d93ca5a0223b45ed8d754ea1bc7f0a8b2025-08-20T02:04:41ZengMDPI AGSeparations2297-87392024-10-01111131210.3390/separations11110312Study on an Integrated Water Treatment System by Simultaneously Coupling Granular Activated Carbon (GAC) and Powdered Carbon with UltrafiltrationYi Wang0Sijia Yu1Weiwei Cai2School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing 102488, ChinaSchool of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing 102488, ChinaSchool of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing 102488, ChinaThe process of using powdered activated carbon (PAC) in conjunction with ultrafiltration (UF) has been widely adopted for the treatment of various types of water and wastewater. However, during the application of this integrated PAC-UF process, PAC tends to adhere significantly to the surface of the UF membrane, which exacerbates membrane fouling. To tackle this issue, this study proposed an innovative water treatment approach that simultaneously integrated granular activated carbon (GAC) and PAC/biochar with UF. In this setup, PAC/biochar was intended to enhance water quality, while the fluidized GAC particles were aimed at reducing membrane fouling and the deposition of PAC/biochar on the membrane surface. We systematically analyzed the operational performance of the integrated systems concerning fouling formation, PAC/biochar attachment, effluent quality, and foulant components. The results indicate that both PAC and biochar effectively improved effluent quality in terms of chemical oxygen demand (COD) and hardness, although they significantly deposited on the membrane surface during operation. Notably, PAC was more prone to attach to the membrane than biochar, and the fouling in biochar-UF systems was primarily attributed to the attachment of organic foulants rather than biochar itself. By combining with GAC, up to 46.01% of membrane fouling and 96.11% of PAC/biochar attachment were mitigated due to the strong mechanical action of the fluidized GAC particles. Importantly, the inclusion of fluidized GAC did not significantly affect effluent quality. Consequently, the GAC-PAC/biochar systems proposed in this study demonstrated dual benefits of improving effluent quality and ensuring stable operation, thereby providing a viable solution for efficient and sustainable water treatment.https://www.mdpi.com/2297-8739/11/11/312water treatmentmembrane foulingfluidized GAC particlesPACbiochar
spellingShingle Yi Wang
Sijia Yu
Weiwei Cai
Study on an Integrated Water Treatment System by Simultaneously Coupling Granular Activated Carbon (GAC) and Powdered Carbon with Ultrafiltration
Separations
water treatment
membrane fouling
fluidized GAC particles
PAC
biochar
title Study on an Integrated Water Treatment System by Simultaneously Coupling Granular Activated Carbon (GAC) and Powdered Carbon with Ultrafiltration
title_full Study on an Integrated Water Treatment System by Simultaneously Coupling Granular Activated Carbon (GAC) and Powdered Carbon with Ultrafiltration
title_fullStr Study on an Integrated Water Treatment System by Simultaneously Coupling Granular Activated Carbon (GAC) and Powdered Carbon with Ultrafiltration
title_full_unstemmed Study on an Integrated Water Treatment System by Simultaneously Coupling Granular Activated Carbon (GAC) and Powdered Carbon with Ultrafiltration
title_short Study on an Integrated Water Treatment System by Simultaneously Coupling Granular Activated Carbon (GAC) and Powdered Carbon with Ultrafiltration
title_sort study on an integrated water treatment system by simultaneously coupling granular activated carbon gac and powdered carbon with ultrafiltration
topic water treatment
membrane fouling
fluidized GAC particles
PAC
biochar
url https://www.mdpi.com/2297-8739/11/11/312
work_keys_str_mv AT yiwang studyonanintegratedwatertreatmentsystembysimultaneouslycouplinggranularactivatedcarbongacandpowderedcarbonwithultrafiltration
AT sijiayu studyonanintegratedwatertreatmentsystembysimultaneouslycouplinggranularactivatedcarbongacandpowderedcarbonwithultrafiltration
AT weiweicai studyonanintegratedwatertreatmentsystembysimultaneouslycouplinggranularactivatedcarbongacandpowderedcarbonwithultrafiltration