Using Zeta Potential to Optimize Pretreatment for MF/UF Membranes During Pilot Testing

The City of Pearland is planning to construct a 10 million gallons per day Surface Water Treatment Plant expandable to 20 mgd. The source water is challenging to treat due to the high variability in water quality. Processes selected for pilot testing included: Pre-oxidation and
disinfection with chlorine dioxide, Conventional pretreatment and settling with 3-stage flocculation and plate settlers, Membrane filtration with three different MF/UF membranes tested in parallel, and GAC adsorption on the membrane filtrate for taste and odor control. Zeta potential was used during the testing to maintain a consistent settled water quality in response to rapid shifts in source water quality.