Tradeoff between micropollutant abatement and bromate formation during ozonation of concentrates from nanofiltration and reverse osmosis processes

Abstract

Water treatment with nanofiltration (NF) or reverse osmosis (RO) membranes results in a purified permeate and a retentate, where solutes are concentrated and have to be properly managed and discharged. To date, little is known on how the selection of a semi-permeable dense membrane impacts the dissolved organic matter in the concentrate and what the consequences are for micropollutant (MP) abatement and bromate formation during concentrate treatment with ozone. Laboratory ozonation experiments were performed with standardized concentrates produced by three membranes (two NFs and one low-pressure reverse osmosis (LPRO) membrane) from three water sources (two river waters and one lake water). The concentrates were standardized by adjustment of pH and concentrations of dissolved organic carbon, total inorganic carbon, selected micropollutants (MP) with a low to high ozone reactivity and bromide to exclude factors which are known to impact ozonation. NF membranes had a lower retention of bromide and MPs than the LPRO membrane, and if the permeate quality of the NF membrane meets the requirements, the selection of this membrane type is beneficial due to the lower bromate formation risks upon concentrate ozonation. The bromate formation was typically higher in standardized concentrates of LPRO than of NF membranes, but the tradeoff between MP abatement and bromate formation upon ozonation of the standardized concentrates was not affected by the membrane type. Furthermore, there was no difference for the different source waters. Overall, ozonation of concentrates is only feasible for abatement of MPs with a high to moderate ozone reactivity with limited bromate formation. Differences in the DOM composition between NF and LPRO membrane concentrates are less relevant than retention of MPs and bromide by the membrane and the required ozone dose to meet a treatment target.