Photocatalysis-membrane hybrid system for organic removal from biologically treated sewage effluent

The application of semiconductor photocatalysis in treating wastewater has attracted growing interest due to its complete mineralisation of organic matter. Furthermore, coupling of photocatalytic process with microfiltration provided considerable advantages over the conventional methods. In this study, the photocatalytic reactivity of the catalysts was assessed at different operating conditions. The results show that the dissolved organic carbon (DOC) content was halved at a concentration of 1.0 g/L of TiO2. With the addition of flocculant FeCl3, the oxidation process was significantly improved further by another 30%. The recovery of TiO2 upon photooxidation process was achieved by coupling the photocatalysis reactor with a low energy submerged membrane reactor. The results show superior DOC degradation of more than 80% by this hybrid system. Moreover, it was demonstrated that photosensitization with TiO2/UV could effectively reduce membrane fouling and enhance the permeate flux of the submerged membrane reactor.