Organic fouling and regeneration of zeolite membrane in wastewater treatment

Aluminum-doped ZSM-5 zeolite membranes were synthesized by seeding and secondary growth. The membrane has Na+ rejection of 97.3% and water flux of 4.72 kg m−2 h−1 for 0.1 M NaCl at 2.76 MPa operating pressure. Toluene solution was selected as a foulant to investigate organic fouling and its influence on membrane performance. The fouling resulted in a 34.8% loss in water flux. The Na+ and organic separation efficiencies did not change after the membrane was fouled. Oxidative regeneration by using 15% H2O2 solution was employed for cleaning the toluene-fouled zeolite membrane at room temperature. Results showed H2O2 solution was an effective way to fully recover the membrane flux.