Near dissolved organic matter microfiltration (NDOM MF) coupled with UVC LED disinfection to maximize the efficiency of water treatment for the removal of Giardia and Cryptosporidium

•An MF membrane with a 0.8 μm mean pore size was the best to separate protozoa.•NDOM MF using a 0.8 μm membrane was newly proposed as an alternative.•NDOM MF revealed 52% to 146% higher water fluxes than conventional MF.•NDOM MF guaranteed a comparable removal rate (3–4 log) to conventional MF.•The NDOM MF coupled with UVC LED could achieve a 6–7 log reduction. Microfiltration (MF) membranes with a mean pore size same as or smaller than 0.45 µm have been typically used to separate pathogenic protozoa in water since materials larger than 0.45 µm are considered particulates. However, 0.45 µm is too small to separate protozoa which are 4–6 µm (Cryptosporidium oocyst) or 8–15 µm (Giardia cyst) in size. In this study, we optimized the mean pore size of MF membranes to maximize the producibility and guarantee a high removal rate simultaneously and proposed the membrane filtration using an MF membrane with an optimum mean pore size larger than but close to dissolved organic matter (DOM), which is called near DOM MF (NDOM MF). According to the MF test using polystyrene surrogate beads with diameters of 3 and 8 µm, an MF membrane with a 0.8 µm mean pore size was the best in that it showed 52% to 146% higher water fluxes than a 0.45 µm MF membrane while maintaining the removal rate at 3–4 log. It was also the case for a low-temperature MF test, revealing the NDOM MF is highly effective regardless of temperature changes. Lastly, we tried to find the possibility of combining the NDOM MF with disinfection by an ultraviolet light emitting diode (UVC LED) to further guarantee the high quality of treated water while providing high process efficiency. [Display omitted]