Integrated process for membrane fouling mitigation and organic pollutants removal using copper oxide modified ceramic hollow fiber membrane with in-situ peroxymonosulfate activation

A novel CuO modified ceramic hollow fiber membrane for in-situ peroxymonosulfate (PMS) activation was developed and employed in surface water treatment. The performance of membrane fouling control and organic pollutants removal was systematically investigated. The results indicated that compared with pristine membrane, CuO modified ceramic hollow fiber membrane significantly improved the removal of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and UV absorbance at 254 nm (UV254) in surface water. The removal rate increased with the increase of CuO loading content because of the reduction of the membrane surface pore size, but declined with the increase of PMS dosage due to the degradation products of incomplete mineralization passing through the membrane. The fluorescent compounds in surface water were efficiently removed by the CuO modified ceramic hollow fiber membrane and enhanced with the increase of PMS dosage and CuO loading content. The CuO modified ceramic hollow fiber membrane with in-situ PMS activation exhibits excellent antifouling property to natural organic matter (NOM) in surface water. Both the reversible and irreversible fouling decreased with the increase of PMS dosage while the membrane fouling would be slightly intensified with increased loading of CuO on the membrane, suggesting the trade-off relation between PMS dosage and CuO loading content. In addition, the degradation efficiency of organic pollutants in surface water was dramatically enhanced by the CuO modified ceramic hollow fiber membrane via incorporation of in-situ PMS oxidation process. High removal performance after five cycles of experiments showed the superior stability and reusability of the CuO modified ceramic hollow fiber membrane.