Abstract:
In this study. the critical flux was experimentally evaluated for crossflow rnicrofiltration (CFMF) with and
without pretreatment. Two different kinds of wastewater (synthetic wastewater with persisting organic
compounds and biologically treated wastewater from a wastewater treatment plant) were used. The
preflocculation showed a dramatic improvement (nearly 4 times) in the critical flux of the synthetic wastewater
(e.g, increased from 100 L/m2.h to 380 L/m2.h using 0.45 urn microfiltration membrane). The adsorption could
increase the critical flux up to 240 Llm'.h. When using the biologically treated wastewater. the results indicated
that: (i) the pretreatment by adsorption led to 6 times higher critical flux; (ii) the preflocculation alone did not
significantly increase the critical flux (there was only a 33% increase with preflocculation) and (iii) the
pretlocculation combined with PAC adsorption resulted in a very high increase of the critical flux (more than 7
times).
