Continuous and efficient removal of THMs from river water using MF membrane combined with high dose of PAC

A combination of microfiltration (MF) membrane with a high concentration (40 g/L of the reactor) of powdered activated carbon (PAC) efficiently and continuously removed trihalomethanes (THMs) and total organic carbon (TOC) from river water for a period of two months. Without PAC, the membrane reactor was able to remove less than 18% of THMs and less than 5% of TOC; with PAC, 65 to 95% of THMs and TOC were removed. Even though the THMs concentration in the influent was steadily increasing (reaching 50 μg/L), THMs concentration in the effluents from the reactors with PAC were consistently below 15 μg/L. While the MF membranes alone could not remove organics, PAC and microbial activity in the biofilm deposited on the PAC particles assured long term and continuous removal of THMs. No additional PAC was added into or removed from the reactors during the filtration period. Operational parameters such as the backwashing of the membrane, interval of the filtration cycle and biological pretreatment of the river water had a small effect on the extent of THMs removal, but they increased the filtration time prior to membrane cleaning and improved the overall performance of the reactors.