Membran inom svensk dricksvattenproduktion / Membrane filtration in Swedish drinking water production
The interest for membrane technologies has increased in Sweden during the past years. With this in mind, the Svenskt vatten utveckling (SVU) funded project “GenoMembran” was realized, to study improved removal of natural organic matter (NOM). Ultrafiltration with coagulation pretreatment could produce water of similar quality of current conventional treatments, while a tighter membrane, a nanofilter, could improve the water quality. The reductions of viruses were even better than expected, with reductions up to 6-log. An ultrafilter costs marginally more to operate than current conventional treatment does, while the nanofilter would cost around one third more to operate, partly due to the cost of the membrane modules. Although membrane processes have a higher direct energy use, a change into a membrane process would lead to lower greenhouse gas emissions. The increased interest of membranes has good causes, but there are many aspects to consider before a suitable solution is found in a specific situation.