Effects of Alkaline Cleaning Agents on the Long-Term Performance and Aging of Polyethersulfone Ultrafiltration Membranes Applied for Treatment of Car Wash Wastewater

The commercial ultrafiltration polyethersulfone (PES) membranes (10 and 100 kDa) blended with polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) were applied for the filtration of car wash wastewater. Periodical membrane rinsing with water did not prevent fouling and a decrease in permeate flux was observed. Fouling was reduced by washing the membranes with cleaning agents, which are used in car washes to clean wheels and remove insects. In addition to surfactants, these agents contain NaOH, hence the pH value of cleaning solutions was over 11. Long-term contact with such solutions resulted in the removal of PVP from the membrane matrix and an increase in pore size. The PES membranes were soaked in an alkaline solution (pH = 11.5) for 20 months, after which the 200 kDa dextran rejection decreased from 95% to 80%. To compare with the static degradation conditions, 8 weeks of alkaline agent filtration was realized, after which the dextran (200 kDa) rejection decreased below 50%. This indicated that the cross-flow of alkaline agents can accelerate the removal of components building the membrane matrix. Despite membrane degradation, the separation efficiency (the rejection of chemical oxygen demand—COD, turbidity, and surfactants) during the treatment of synthetic car wash wastewater was similar to that obtained for pristine membranes.