The Influence of PVDF Membrane Ageing on the Efficiency of Bacterial Rejection During the Ultrafiltration Treatment of Carwash Wastewater

This study investigated the influence of two years of ultrafiltration (UF) on the separation properties of tubular polyvinylidene fluoride membranes used for treating carwash wastewater, particularly with regard to bacterial rejection. Fouling was mitigated by washing the membranes with alkaline cleaning agents (pH > 11.5). Repeated applications of these agents enlarged the membrane pores to approximately 300 nm. This affected bacterial retention, and for feed containing bacteria (determined as colony-forming units, CFU) at a concentration of 3.11 × 10⁶ CFU/mL, over 13,000 CFU/mL were detected in the permeate. Interestingly, fouling improved retention, reducing bacterial counts present in the permeate from 13,689 to 2889 CFU/mL. Fouling also enhanced the retention of surfactants (80%), chemical oxide domain (60%), and turbidity (below 0.5 NTU), yielding results comparable to new membranes. Daily 60-min membrane washing with Wheel Cleaner solution (pH = 11.5) improved the membranes performance; however, it did not remove deposits from large pores, allowing good rejection performance and a permeate flux of 65 LMH to be maintained. It was found that bacteria also developed on the permeate side. Disinfection of the module housing with a NaOH/NaOCl solution reduced the number of bacteria in the permeate from 5356 to 66 CFU/mL. Microbiological tests revealed that some of these bacteria were antibiotic-resistant.