Excessive ozonation stress triggers severe membrane biofilm accumulation and fouling.
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Supporting information
Accepted version
Author(s)
Zhang, Li
Graham, Nigel
Li, Guibai
Zhu, Yongguan
Yu, Wenzheng
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
The established benefits of ozone on microbial pathogen inactivation, natural organic matter degradation, and inorganic/organic contaminant oxidation have favored its application in drinking water treatment. However, viable bacteria are still present after the ozonation of raw water, bringing a potential risk to membrane filtration systems in terms of biofilm accumulation and fouling. In this study, we shed light on the role of the specific ozone dose (0.5 mg-O3/mg-C) in biofilm accumulation during long-term membrane ultrafiltration. Results demonstrated that ozonation transformed the molecular structure of influent dissolved organic matter (DOM), producing fractions that were highly bioavailable at a specific ozone dose of 0.5, which was inferred to be a turning point. With the increase of the specific ozone dose, the biofilm microbial consortium was substantially shifted, demonstrating a decrease in richness and diversity. Unexpectedly, the opportunistic pathogen Legionella was stimulated and occurred in approximately 40% relative abundance at the higher specific ozone dose of 1. Accordingly, the membrane filtration system with a specific ozone dose of 0.5 presented a lower biofilm thickness, a weaker fluorescence intensity, smaller concentrations of polysaccharides and proteins, and a lower Raman activity, leading to a lower hydraulic resistance, compared to that with a specific ozone dose of 1. Our findings highlight the interaction mechanism between molecular-level DOM composition, biofilm microbial consortium, and membrane filtration performance, which provides an in-depth understanding of the impact of ozonation on biofilm accumulation.
Date Issued
2024-04-02
Date Acceptance
2024-03-05
Citation
Environmental Science and Technology (Washington), 2024, 58 (13), pp.5899-5910
ISSN
0013-936X
Publisher
American Chemical Society
Start Page
5899
End Page
5910
Journal / Book Title
Environmental Science and Technology (Washington)
Volume
58
Issue
13
Copyright Statement
© 2024 American Chemical Society. his is the author’s accepted manuscript made available under a CC-BY licence in accordance with Imperial’s Research Publications Open Access policy (www.imperial.ac.uk/oa-policy)
License URL
Identifier
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/38502922
Subjects
Biofilms
Membranes, Artificial
Ozone
Ultrafiltration
Water Purification
biofilm
DOM
membrane filtration
microbial consortia
ozone
water treatment
Publication Status
Published
Coverage Spatial
United States
Date Publish Online
2024-03-19