Formation of organic deposits on low-preassure reverse osmotic membranes in treating water from surface sources

Introduction. In this paper, we investigate the interaction of organic pollutants with nanofiltration and reverse osmosis membranes in natural water on the basis of experimental data and available literature information. The rates of formation of various organic deposits (humic acids changing the water colour and forming low-molecular organic compounds characterised by an oxidation index) on membranes during purifying river and pre-treated water are presented. Aim: To determine the required efficiency of removing organic substances from surface waters at the pre-treatment stage prior to water treatment by reverse osmosis on the basis of measuring the rates of adsorption of organic substances on membranes and predicting the amount of as-formed organic deposits. Methods and materials. Methods for determining the adsorption rate of organic pollutants using gas-liquid chromatography and total carbon determination are described. The advantages of spectrogram analysis in assessing water quality are specified. The formation rates of high- and low-molecular organic substances, which produce colouring and characterise water oxidisability, respectively, were determined using a membrane test unit. Results. According to the rates of forming organic deposits on membranes both during the processing of river water with a colour of 60 PCU and purified (tap) water with a colour of 18 PCU, organic substances adsorbed on membranes are shown to have little effect on the efficiency of the reverse osmosis process. In addition, the rate of depositing organic substances on the membranes under study is established to be significantly lower than that using sparingly soluble salts (calcium carbonate). Conclusion. Our results demonstrate that organic deposits formed on the membranes under study have an insignificant effect on the membrane performance. Therefore, pre-treatment aimed at removing organic substances when purifying natural waters with colour indices of up to 60 PCU is not required.