Application of microfiltration for the treatment of Marcellus Shale flowback water: Influence of floc breakage on membrane fouling

For the two flowback waters tested in this study, the one with lower TDS caused more severe fouling of both SiC and Al2O3 membranes during the first 15 min of filtration. The flux decline analysis revealed that intermediate pore blocking was the dominant fouling mechanism in the early filtration stage. Such behavior was due to the fact that the particulate matter in this flowback water was in the aggregate form and the flocs were prone to breakup at elevated shear stress caused by high pumping rate. Despite having much higher TSS, the other flowback water did not cause excessive membrane fouling due to stability and strength of its original particles.