Performance of a coagulation-ultrafiltration hybrid process for water supply treatment

The combination of coagulation/flocculation and ultrafiltration in the process of drinking water treatment was investigated using natural (chitosan) and chemical (aluminum sulfate) coagulants. A 0.1 μm single-channel membrane was applied at pressures of 1 bar and 2 bar, using the principle of crossflow filtration. The final produced water quality was assessed considering the efficiency of removal of color, turbidity, COD, and compounds that absorb UV at 254 nm, among other physico-chemical and microbiological parameters. The coagulation/flocculation with chitosan as coagulant (CFQ) was efficient in removing compounds that add color and turbidity and that absorb UV at 254 nm, with levels that were very similar to those obtained with the coagulation/flocculation process with aluminum sulfate as coagulant (CFS). Performance evaluation of the hybrid systems (CFS-UF and CFQ-UF) showed that the permeate quality was increased when compared with individually operated systems (UF, CFS, and CFQ). The CFQ-UF process caused higher membrane fouling (79% at 2 bar), but yielded a higher stabilized permeate flux, which was approximately twice that achieved with CFS-UF. Based on the results, one can say that chitosan has a potential application as natural coagulant in CF-UF hybrid processes for treating drinking water with relatively high turbidity.