How Fiber Breakage Reduces Microorganism Removal in Ultrafiltration for Wastewater Reclamation.

Ultrafiltration (UF) membranes are increasingly being used for wastewater reclamation treatment for their high removal of pathogens and suspended solids. However, breakage of UF membrane fibers could allow leakage of pathogens into the permeate and create health risks in the use of reclaimed water. Here, we assessed the log10 reduction value (LRV) of human enteric viruses and microbial indicators of new and aged UF modules in a pilot-scale UF process to evaluate the influence of fiber breakage. Norovirus genotypes I and II, Aichi virus, and Escherichia coli were not detected in any permeate samples of intact UF modules, but were detected in samples of damaged UF modules. LRVs of all microorganisms assayed decreased as fiber breakage of new UF modules increased, with maximum decreases of > 3.3 log10. Fiber breakage in the aged UF modules did not decrease LRVs of somatic coliphages and MS2, but breakage in the new UF modules did decrease them. Intact new UF modules gave higher LRVs than intact aged UF modules. When the LRV of intact UF module was assumed to be 1 or 2 log10, increasing fiber breakage did not significantly decrease the predicted LRV, but when it was ≥ 3 log10, it did decrease LRV, in good agreement with measured LRVs in the degraded UF modules. These results suggest that the LRV of intact UF modules affects the decrease in LRV and confirm the leakage of human enteric viruses following fiber breakage in UF modules of different ages in the UF process of wastewater reclamation.