Coagulation/flocculation prior to low pressure membranes in drinking water treatment: a review

Microfiltration (MF) and ultrafiltration (UF) consistently remove suspended material and pathogens from drinking water; however, membrane fouling inhibits their application by increasing operation and maintenance costs. Coagulation/flocculation is a commonly used pretreatment method for the reduction of membrane fouling; in this review it has been grouped into three typical configuration types: Type 1: coagulation + no/incidental flocculation, Type 2: coagulation + flocculation, and Type 3: conventional coagulation, based on operational conditions. The impact of each configuration on floc properties, membrane fouling, and organics removal has been reviewed in detail. Due to relatively high membrane resistance and low NOM reductions, configuration Type 1 may not be optimal for fouling control and organics removal when compared to Types 2 and 3. Configuration Type 2 led to the lowest cake layer and specific cake layer resistance for both MF and UF, while there is evidence that Type 3 results in the greatest reduction in fouling rate by reducing mass flux towards the membrane surface. As expected, with no coagulant results indicate that UF achieves greater organics removal when compared to MF, but with the addition of coagulant performance is similar for all configuration types. By highlighting the connection between coagulation/flocculation configuration types and membrane performance, the review provides insight for the design and operation of pretreatment for low pressure membrane filtration. In addition, understanding the impact of configuration types on floc properties aids in revealing the fouling mechanisms that dictate membrane performance. Knowledge gaps have been identified for guidance on future research.