Ceramic membrane based hybrid process for the upgrade of rural water treatment plants: A pilot study

Abstract An integrated process with ozonation, ceramic membrane ultrafiltration, and activated carbon filtration is investigated for the treatment of drinking water in the rural area of China. A pilot‐scale experiment with a capacity of 20 m 3 /d is conducted, and a number of water quality parameters are evaluated, such as turbidity, color, organic matter (COD Mn ), manganese (Mn), geosmin (GSM), 2‐methylisoborneol (2‐MIB), and 37 kinds of pharmaceutical and personal care products (PPCPs). The result shows that the removal efficiency of all the evaluated parameters of this integrated process is much higher than that of the conventional treatment processes. In particular, the removal rate of PPCPs achieves 52.5%, which is twice higher than that of the conventional process. Moreover, ozone can oxidize manganese ions, degrade organic matters, and reduce membrane fouling. It is believed that the integrated treatment process developed in this study is efficient in upgrading the existing water treatment plants and ensuring the safety of drinking water in the rural areas around the world.