Coupling ceramic nanofiltration membranes with catalytic ozonation for fouling control during treatment of secondary urban wastewater effluent
Abstract
Nanofiltration employing ceramic membranes represents a promising alternative for tertiary and quaternary wastewater treatment due to their superior mechanical and chemical stability over polymeric membrane materials. However, many applications of NF ceramic membranes are still limited by severe organic fouling. The present study investigates the fouling mitigation applied to real urban wastewater secondary effluent in hybrid operation system coupling filtration with catalytic ozonation. Analysis of the effluent organic matter revealed humic-like substances as key contributors to irreversible internal fouling, while protein-like compounds mainly induced reversible cake formation. It has been evidenced that the catalytic ozonation enables a full flux recovery (Flux recovery ratio (FR) ≈ 100%) and may therefore outperform chemical cleaning in reversibility, long-term stability and cost effectiveness. Moreover, the catalytic membranes demonstrated a superior anti-fouling behaviour when ozone was continuously applied during the filtration process. An optimal ozone concentration was 25 g.Nm−3 (≈ 0.5 gO₃per g of dissolved organic carbon (DOC)), ensuring efficient removal of foulants, while minimizing ozone consumption. The highest flux stability and organic compounds removal was obtained while achieving chemical oxygen demand (COD) to total organic carbon (TOC) ratios below 2 indicating the formation of more biodegradable by-products. These findings demonstrate that catalytic ozonation coupled with the filtration process significantly enhances membrane sustainability, improving cleaning efficiency, and enabling stable long-term operation in real wastewater treatment.
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BibTeX
@article{jacquemin2026coupling,
title = {{Coupling ceramic nanofiltration membranes with catalytic ozonation for fouling control during treatment of secondary urban wastewater effluent}},
author = {Eliott Jacquemin and Martin Drobek and Eddy Petit and Loubna Atfane and Julie Mendret and Stéphan Brosillon},
journal = {Chemical engineering journal. Green and sustainable},
year = {2026},
month = sep,
doi = {10.1016/j.cejgas.2026.100106},
url = {https://hal.umontpellier.fr/hal-05761041v1},
note = {CC BY-NC-ND 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Coupling ceramic nanofiltration membranes with catalytic ozonation for fouling control during treatment of secondary urban wastewater effluent
AU - Eliott Jacquemin
AU - Martin Drobek
AU - Eddy Petit
AU - Loubna Atfane
AU - Julie Mendret
AU - Stéphan Brosillon
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/09/23
JO - Chemical engineering journal. Green and sustainable
DO - 10.1016/j.cejgas.2026.100106
UR - https://hal.umontpellier.fr/hal-05761041v1
AB - Nanofiltration employing ceramic membranes represents a promising alternative for tertiary and quaternary wastewater treatment due to their superior mechanical and chemical stability over polymeric membrane materials. However, many applications of NF ceramic membranes are still limited by severe organic fouling. The present study investigates the fouling mitigation applied to real urban wastewater secondary effluent in hybrid operation system coupling filtration with catalytic ozonation. Analysis of the effluent organic matter revealed humic-like substances as key contributors to irreversible internal fouling, while protein-like compounds mainly induced reversible cake formation. It has been evidenced that the catalytic ozonation enables a full flux recovery (Flux recovery ratio (FR) ≈ 100%) and may therefore outperform chemical cleaning in reversibility, long-term stability and cost effectiveness. Moreover, the catalytic membranes demonstrated a superior anti-fouling behaviour when ozone was continuously applied during the filtration process. An optimal ozone concentration was 25 g.Nm−3 (≈ 0.5 gO₃per g of dissolved organic carbon (DOC)), ensuring efficient removal of foulants, while minimizing ozone consumption. The highest flux stability and organic compounds removal was obtained while achieving chemical oxygen demand (COD) to total organic carbon (TOC) ratios below 2 indicating the formation of more biodegradable by-products. These findings demonstrate that catalytic ozonation coupled with the filtration process significantly enhances membrane sustainability, improving cleaning efficiency, and enabling stable long-term operation in real wastewater treatment.
SN - 3051-0031
SN - 3051-0031
ER -