Comparison Performances of Microfiltration and Rapid Sand Filter Operated in Water Treatment Plant

Water treatment of river water is generally carried out conventionally, a rapid sand filter consisting of a coagulation unit, flocculation, sedimentation, and sand filtration. One of the disadvantages of sand filters is that it requires a large volume of water for washing, inconsistent quality, and escape of microorganisms less than 0.01 mm in size. Membrane technology can solve this problem with the advantages of including a more compact unit with a larger surface area per volume. The immersed membrane has another advantage that it is possible to integrate with sedimentation units so that it can save the land. This paper will study a comparison of the performance of the microfiltration membrane with sand filters in two drinking water treatment plants. The comparison method is based on technical specification, capacity, and quality performance. The results show that the quality of the microfiltration membrane filtrate is better than the sand filter. Overall immersed membrane microfiltration with pore size 0.05 µm had removal efficiency of E. Coli was 100%, turbidity 93 %, TSS 100%. Organic permanganate value 37%, and Microplastics 81.5%, whereas pore size 0.07 µm removal E. Coli was 99.8%, turbidity 52.9 %, Organic permanganate value 17.6%, and Microplastics 37.1%. The productivity of microfiltration membranes is more significant than rapid sand filters. The removal efficiency of WWTP Ngagel was better than Siwalan Panji.