Ceramic membrane separation coupled with catalytic ozonation for tertiary treatment of dyestuff wastewater in a pilot-scale study

• Coupling catalytic ozonation with ceramic membrane separation was piloted.
• Catalytic ozonation effectively mitigates membrane fouling.
• COD, SS, E. coli and chromaticity color were effectively removed.
• Effluent did not show genotoxicity risk to aquatic organism.

An apparatus coupling catalytic ozonation with ceramic membrane separation was designed and piloted for the tertiary treatment of dyestuff wastewater from Anaerobic–Anoxic–Oxic effluent. The apparatus’s water treatment capacity was about 10 t/d at the average permeate flux of 110 L/(m2⋅h). After the treatment of the dyestuff wastewater, CODCr decreased from 100 ± 20 mg/L to <10 mg/L, suspended solids drastically reduced from 20 ± 5 mg/L to <0.1 mg/L and Escherichia coli was completely removed from the initial concentration of >2.4 × 106 MPN/L. Chroma also got a large decrement from 90 ± 10 to <2 at dilution times. Furthermore, genotoxicity showed an effective abatement detected by comet assay. The high performance of the designed apparatus in the treatment of the dyestuff wastewater was associated with the synergistic effects of catalytic ozonation and membrane separation. This work indicates that the system coupling catalytic ozonation with membrane separation will be an alternative approach for the advanced wastewater treatment in practical application.