Natural and modified zeolite utilization in submerged membrane reactor for potable water treatment

In this study, zeolite addition as a pretreatment step in a submerged membrane system was investigated. The effect of natural and modifi ed zeolite, modifi ed zeolite concentration, particle size fractionation of modifi ed zeolite and feed organic matter concentrations as well as turbidity were studied with synthetic solutions. Additionally, experiments were performed to evaluate the effect of modifi ed zeolite concentration and combination of zeolite and FeCl₃with natural raw water. It was found that natural zeolite should be modifi ed prior to use for improving the performance as a pretreatment in the submerged membrane system. Also, it was observed that smaller particle sizes of zeolite improved the performance further. In contrast to turbidity, zeolite and organic matter concentrations have a considerable effect on membrane performance. Natural raw water caused nearly two-fold increase in the vacuum pressure in comparison to the synthetic water. However, addition of FeCl₃in the presence of modifi ed zeolite compensated the high pressure increasing in the permeate line with raw water.