Natural organic matter and sulphate elimination from rainwater with nanofiltration technology and process optimisation using response surface methodology

In the current study, the effect of operating conditions including membrane characteristics and applied pressure on natural organic matter and sulphate removal of nanofiltration (NF) membranes for drinking water production was investigated. Water stress has been increasing all over the world due to population growth, climate change, and pollution; rainwater management stands out as one of the key solutions to this problem. Nanofiltration to treat rainwater stored in a cistern was studied. The objectives were sufficient treatment performance to overcome the taste problem and lower energy consumption. In this regard, three commercial nanofiltration membranes (NP010, NP030, and NF90) were used for the experiments carried out at 6-12 bar operating pressure regarding the response surface methodology. The correlation among the results of experiments and the model parameters were also calculated for all steps. According to the results, the effect of membrane characteristics was more abundant than the effect of the operating pressure. Finally, over 99% of natural organic matter and sulphate were eliminated in the optimum conditions. The results showed that it is possible to obtain treated rainwater with desired qualities, in a non-continuous NF plant operated at the pressure of 6 bar to reuse the rainwater and achieve water sustainability.

Automated summary

This study focused on investigating the impact of membrane characteristics and applied pressure on the removal of natural organic matter and sulphate using nanofiltration membranes for drinking water production. The results revealed that membrane characteristics had a greater influence on the removal efficiency than the operating pressure. Ultimately, a removal efficiency of over 99% was achieved for natural organic matter and sulphate under optimal conditions.