Removal of color substances using photocatalytic oxidation for membrane filtration processes

This study aims to remove the color substances, which normally cause difficulties in membrane filtration processes due to fouling using heterogeneous UV/TiO₂/H₂O₂ reactor. It is confirmed that the technique used in this study was effective to remove TOC at 38% and color400 at 89% within 150-min irradiation. The experiment results showed that low concentrations of hydrogen peroxide dosage (less than 0.016 M) to UV/TiO₂ system accelerated the TOC and Color400 removal rate from 9% to 38% and 40% to 89% respectively, while over-dosage made this positive effect decline. The humic acid solution treated by photo catalytic oxidation in UV/TiO₂/H₂O₂ reactor did not change the zeta potential on membrane surface and membrane rejection rate.