Removal of organic matter and disinfection by-products precursors in a hybrid process combining ozonation with ceramic membrane ultrafiltration

The performance of an integrated process including coagulation, ozonation, ceramic ultrafiltration (UF) and biologic activated carbon (BAC) filtration was investigated for the removal of organic matter and disinfection by-products (DBPs) precursors from micro-polluted surface water. A pilot scale plant with the capacity of 120 m³ per day was set up and operated for the treatment of drinking water. Ceramic membranes were used with the filtration area of 50 m² and a pore size of 60 nm. Dissolved organic matter was divided into five fractions including hydrophobic acid (HoA), base (HoB) and neutral (HoN), weakly hydrophobic acid (WHoA) and hydrophilic matter (HiM) by DAX-8 and XAD-4 resins. The experiment results showed that the removal of organic matter was significantly improved with ozonation in advance. In sum, the integrated process removed 73% of dissolved organic carbon (DOC), 87% of UV₂₅₄, 77% of trihalomethane (THMs) precursors, 76% of haloacetic acid (HAAs) precursors, 83%of trichloracetic aldehyde (CH) precursor, 77% of dichloroacetonitrile (DCAN) precursor, 51% of trichloroacetonitrile (TCAN) precursor, 96% of 1,1,1-trichloroacetone (TCP) precursor and 63% of trichloronitromethane (TCNM) precursor. Hydrophobic organic matter was converted into hydrophilic organic matter during ozonation/UF, while the organic matter with molecular weight of 1000–3000 Da was remarkably decreased and converted into lower molecular weight organic matter ranged from 200–500 Da. DOC had a close linear relationship with the formation potential of DBPs.