Emerging algal organic matter from simulated on-line chemical cleaning of ultrafiltration membranes treating algae-containing water

Massive reproduction of algae due to the eutrophication of water body poses a new challenge to the water ecosystem. Despite ultrafiltration (UF) acting as an effective method to treat algae-containing waters, on-line chemical cleaning is frequently utilized to sustain the permeability of UF membranes. However, little attention is currently paid on the side-effects of practical on-line chemical cleaning on aqueous environments. Therefore, this work evaluated the generation of algae organic matter triggered by diverse membrane cleaning reagents (i.e., HCl, NaOH, NaClO, SDS and CA), and their subsequent fate in terms of biodegradation and membrane retention. The results indicated that NaOH, HCl and NaClO caused serious damage and lysis of algal cells, leading to the significant release of dissolved organic matter (DOM), while CA and SDS induced negligible DOM release. The occurrence of DOM release was able to cause extra biofouling, thus deteriorating the UF permeability. Furthermore, DOM was characterized in terms of three molecular weight ranges, i.e., high molecular weight (HMW, > 3400 Da), medium molecular weight (MMW, 150–3400 Da), and low molecular weight (LMW, <150 Da). Protein-related substances in the range of HMW and MMW were primarily produced under HCl and NaOH exposures. In contrast, NaClO led to an obvious release of humic-like materials with MMW. During the next round of UF operation, roughly 17 % to 31 % of these released DOM could be removed by via the joint actions of suspended algae biodegradation and fouling layer retention. Nevertheless, roughly 69 % to 83 % of these produced DOM eventually entered into the UF permeate, resulting in the deterioration of permeate quality. Consequently, the detailed mechanisms of DOM generation and subsequent removal by UF were proposed, which re-examined the origins of emerging contaminants in aqueous environment and shed new light on the strategies to ameliorate current practice of on-line membrane chemical cleaning.