Fouling in greywater recycling by direct ultrafiltration

Abstract

Greywater is no doubt a valuable resource that can be used to alleviate water shortage and increase water conservation in individual households. It is particularly important for arid and semiarid regions like Australia. Treated greywater can also be used for many activities within the household such as toilet flushing, garden watering, car washing, or pavement cleansing. This study examines the fouling behaviour of submerged ultrafiltration membranes in greywater recycling under concentration variation of common greywater constituents. The results indicate that the use of ultrafiltration directly for greywater recycling in individual households is promising. As expected, increase in particulate matter concentration results in a thicker cake layer. However, hydraulic resistance of such cake layers depends on the presence of other constituents namely calcium and organic matter, which play a major role in membrane fouling. Fouling increases linearly with organic matter concentration, while the presence of a small amount of calcium may enhance fouling significantly.