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Performance of ceramic-based powdered activated carbon dynamic membrane for the removal of natural organic matter from water and the influence of operating conditions

Authors： SHEN Jie1,2, WU Xin1,2, WANG Tong1,2, FANG Minfeng1,2,3, RAO Pinhua1,2, LI Guanghui1,2

Units： 1. Innovation Center for Environment and Resources, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering,
Shanghai University of Engineering Science, Shanghai 201620, China; 2. Petroleum and Chemical
Industry Key Laboratory of Silicon Carbide Ceramic Membrane, Shanghai University of Engineering
Science, Shanghai 201620, China; 3. Zhejiang Motonghuihai Technology Development
Co., Ltd., Huzhou 313000, China

KeyWords： dynamic membrane; silicon carbide ceramic membrane; natural organic matter; powdered activated carbon; membrane fouling

ClassificationCode：TQ028.8; X52; X703.1

year,volume(issue):pagination： 2026, 46(4):138-149

Abstract：

Natural organic matter is one of the main causes of membrane fouling in drinking water treatment, severely affecting the efficiency and economy of membrane separation processes. In this study, a dynamic membrane (DM) system was constructed by powdered activated carbon (PAC) coated on a silicon carbide (SiC) ceramic membrane as the base membrane to improve the removal efficiency of humic acid (HA) from water and mitigate membrane fouling. The surface morphology, roughness, wettability, and pore size distribution of the PAC DM were characterized by scanning electron microscopy, laser microscopy, contact angle analysis, and fluorescence probe methods. The effects of operating conditions (PAC deposition amount, transmembrane pressure, cross-flow velocity, and backwash conditions) on membrane flux, flux recovery rate, and HA removal rate under dead-end and cross-flow filtration modes were systematically investigated. Results showed that the PAC DM layer significantly increased membrane surface roughness and hydrophilicity, reduced the average pore size, and facilitated the synergistic “adsorption-sieving” mechanism. Under dead-end mode, the HA removal rate and flux recovery rate could reach 86% and 89%, respectively. Under cross-flow mode, at a flow velocity of 0.40 m/s and a transmembrane pressure of 0.025 MPa, the system exhibited better long-term operational stability, with HA removal rate reaching up to 90% and flux recovery rate remaining stable at around 95%. Compared with a pure SiC membrane, the PAC DM significantly slowed flux decline and enhanced the system’s anti-fouling capacity and regeneration performance. In summary, the SiCPAC DM system shows promising application prospects in the efficient removal of natural organic matter and in controlling membrane fouling.

Funds：

上海市地方院校能力建设项目（21010501400）

AuthorIntro：

申杰（1997-），男，湖南祁阳人，硕士研究生，研究方向为动态膜技术及应用.*通讯作者，E-mail：fmf@sues.edu.cn

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