The cost of treating water purification plant water treatment residuals is high, with a low recovery rate and unstable effluent water quality, particularly in plants using lake and reservoir water sources in severe cold regions. Maximizing water resource utilization requires integrating water treatment residuals concentration and treatment effectively. Here, ceramic membrane technology was employed to separate supernatant and substrate after pretreatment. Optimal settling was achieved using 75 μm magnetic powder at 200 and 4 mg/L of nonionic polyacrylamide co-injection. Approximately 65% of the separated supernatant was processed by 0.1–0.2 μm Al2O3 ceramic membranes, yielding a membrane flux of 50 L/m2h and a water recovery rate of 99.8%. This resulted in removal rates of 99.3% for turbidity, 98.2% for color, and 87.7% for color and permanganate index (chemical oxygen demand, COD). Furthermore, 35% of the separated substrate underwent treatment with 0.1–0.2 μm mixed ceramic membranes of Al2O3 and SiC, achieving a membrane flux of 40 L/m2h and a water recovery rate of 73.8%. The removal rates for turbidity, color, and COD were 99.9%, 99.9%, and 82%, respectively. Overall, this process enables comprehensive concentration and treatment integration, achieving a water recovery rate of 90.7% with safe and stable effluent water quality.

21세기 들어서 더욱 나빠지는 기후변화로 가뭄이나 물 부족현상이 전 세계적으로 확대되고 있다. 또한, 화석연료 사용으로 발생하는 이산화탄소는 전체 온실가스의 80%를 차지하기 때문에 지구 온난화의 요인이 되고 있다. 따라서 수처리 멤브레인, 가스분리용 멤브레인, 2차전지용 분리막의 중요성은 증대하고 있으나, 미국, 일본, 독일 등 선진국에서 기술을 독점 하고 있어서 국내 멤브레인 기술의 고도화 및 경쟁력 강화가 시급히 요구되고 있다. 그래서 국가에서도 연구예산을 지원하고 있으나, NTIS 데이터를 이용하여 효율성을 분석하였다. 분석 결과, 단기과제 위주로 지원되고 있고, 타 기술 분야에 비해서도 연구비 규모가 작으며, 기초 소재 분야 지원이 취약한 것으로 분석되었다. 따라서 장기과제를, 많은 예산으로, 대학을 중심으 로 많이 투자할 때 멤브레인 기술의 향상과 경쟁력이 강화되어 선진국과 동등한 기술력을 갖출 것으로 기대된다.

As water resources are limited and legal regulations are strengthened, there is a growing need to reuse residuals in WTP(Water Treatment Plant). In this study, membrane filtration system was constructed and its operation method was studied for water quality stabilization and reuse of WTP residuals. The operation parameters were stable for 1 year and 6 months. Membrane fouling was identified as particulate pollution (activated carbon) and inorganic pollution (manganese). The membrane system was operated steadily with raw water of high concentration SS(Suspended solid) containing activated carbon because membrane fouling was reduced by the effect of End-Free type. In the case of inorganic contamination, dissolved manganese eluted by chemicals and acted as a membrane fouling source, and the operating conditions for minimizing membrane fouling were confirmed by newly developing application methods and types of cleaning chemicals. Based on the results, design parameters for reducing manganese membrane fouling were derived.