Effects of surface hydrophobicity on the removal of F-specific RNA phages from reclaimed water by coagulation and ceramic membrane microfiltration

Abstract Microfiltration (MF) has been widely adopted as an advanced treatment process to reduce suspended solids and turbidity in treated wastewater effluents designated for potable reuse. Although microfilter pores are much larger than viruses, the addition of a coagulant upstream of a microfilter system can achieve stable virus removal. Ceramic membranes have a narrow pore size distribution to achieve the high removal of contaminants. This study aims to evaluate virus log reduction using bench-scale coagulation and ceramic membrane MF. To investigate the effects of differences in net surface hydrophobicity, 18 sewage-derived F-specific RNA phages (FRNAPHs) were used for batch hydrophobicity and coagulation–MF tests. The capability of bench-scale coagulation and ceramic membrane MF under continuous automated long-term operation was tested to remove the lab reference strain MS2 and three selected FRNAPH isolates which varied by surface property. Median virus log reduction values (LRVs) exceeding 6.2 were obtained for all three isolates and MS2. Although coagulation and hydrophobicity were positively correlated, the virus isolate demonstrating the lowest level of hydrophobicity and coagulation (genogroup I) still exhibited a high LRV. Thus, coagulation and ceramic membrane MF systems may serve as viable options for virus removal during water reclamation and advanced treatment.