Comparative performance evaluation of microfiltration submerged and pressurized membrane treatment of wastewater

Continuous microfiltration (CMF) submerged or pressurized membranes, has been widely used recently as a treatment process for the removal of particles and pathogens from water and wastewater. The CMF technology has great potential for wide ranging applications including treatment of surface seawater, municipal and industrial wastewater treatment, groundwater and drinking water. The technical feasibility of this process has been demonstrated through a number of pilot and bench scale research studies in the Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research, Kuwait. Full scale systems are operational in various parts of the world. The CMF process is already considered as a viable alternative for many waste treatments. The emergence of submerged membranes that utilize fairly economical polymer-based membranes and require less energy than external membranes has revolutionized municipal wastewater treatment and has tremendous potential in larger scale, high volume throughput facilities across the globe. This paper discusses the technical and analytical performance of two types of microfiltration system, one with submerged membranes and the other with pressurized membranes. The paper covers performance data and discusses the technical parameters of water productivity and filtrate quality. It also covers the evaluation of membrane performance, system availability and techno-economic study for both systems.