Research on the operational efficiency and mechanism of integrated photocatalytic/coagulation system for the removal of natural organic matter (NOM)

Natural organic matter (NOM) widely exists in natural water bodies and threat drinking water safety. This study aims to construct an integrated photocatalytic/coagulation system and explore its treatment efficiency for NOM in source water. Morphological characteristics of the floc complex were studied based on the machine vision detection system. In addition, structural change characteristics of the floc complex in the integrated photocatalytic/coagulation system were revealed from microscopic perspective to clarify the mechanism of its effect in source water treatment process. And recycling and recycling method of photocatalyst was optimized. The results showed that the integrated photocatalytic/coagulation system can effectively reduce generation of DBPs at concentration level of μg·L−1, and the formed petal-like BiFeO3-core floc complex can achieve rapid sedimentation and had excellent recycling performance. The construction of integrated photocatalytic/coagulation system in this study is expected to provide a theoretical basis for achieving low consumption and high efficiency improvement of source water quality.