METHOD FOR TREATING WATER ON MEMBRANES INTEGRATING ADSORPTION ON ACTIVATED CARBON IN THE FORM OF MICROGRAINS

A method for treating water for the purpose of reducing the content of organic matter, of micropollutants and of pathogenic agents which comprises supplying water to be treated directly into a membrane reactor containing at least one filtration membrane and an adsorbent material, stirring the mixture of water and adsorbent material and extracting treated water, characterized in that the adsorbent material consists of micrograins of activated carbon having a true density of at least 0.45, a settling velocity of 30 to 50 m/h, a specific surface area of 400 to 2500 m2/g and an average particle size of between 600 and 1300 µm, less than 5% by volume of said grains having a size of less than 400 µm, in that the concentration of activated carbon micrograins in the reactor is maintained between 5 and 100 g/l, and in that no other granular or particulate material other than the activated carbon micrograins is used in the reactor, the stirring of said mixture of water and micrograins in the reactor being at least partially carried out by air injection into the mixture at a rate of 30 to 60 Nm3/m2/h and being sufficiently vigorous to avoid the deposit of activated carbon micrograins on said at least one filtration membrane.