Electric fields treatment for the reduction of membrane fouling, the inactivation of bacteria and the enhancement of particle coagulation

The objective of this study is to evaluate the effect of electric fields application for the reduction of membrane fouling, the inactivation of microorganisms and the enhancement of particle coagulation. It was found that electric fields treatment prior to microfiltration showed in large quantity of cumulative permeates than those in non-electric fields. This is attributed to the promotion of particle coagulation and interaction between particle and membrane surface. The number of active bacteria was reduced by electric fields treatment. This may be a positive result for the prevention of membrane bio fouling as well as microbial inactivation. Coagulant dosage could also be saved about 75% compared with non-electric fields in terms of the 95% turbidity removal at 10 (kV/cm). Therefore, it is expected to improve the efficiency and the economics of the process by providing electric fields for wastewater treatment.

Effects of electric fields treatment for the reduction of membrane fouling, microbial inactivation and coagulation enhancement were experimentally investigated. The results are summarized as follows: Electric fields treatment prior to microfiltration showed in large quantity of cumulative permeates than those in non-electric fields. The numbers of active bacteria were reduced by electric fields application. This may be a positive result for the prevention of membrane bio fouling as well as microbial inactivation. Coagulant dosage could be saved about 75% compared with non-electric fields for the 95% of turbidity removal at 10 kV/cm. Electrical fields treatment can be utilized for the membrane fouling reduction, the microbial inactivation and the enhancement of particle coagulation in wastewater treatment. This non-thermal electrical This research was supported by Korea Research Foundation (R05-2003-000-10400-0) and partially supported by the Eco-STAR project of the Ministry of Environment.