Optimizing the Performance of Type U Ultrafiltration Membrane with Variations in Flow Rate and Filtration Time

Ultrafiltration is one of the membrane technologies widely applied to remove nanoparticles (NPs) and colloids, producing drinking water from raw water such as river water, rainwater, etc. In this research, a Type U ultrafiltration membrane was applied. The research parameters, including filtration time and flow rate are varied at 80-720 mins and 1-2 L/s, respectively and optimized to determine the optimum condition of membrane performance. The raw water originates from the Sei Harapan Batam reservoir. The operating parameters, including turbidity and pH, are monitored. After being processed using a U-type ultrafiltration system, the pH and turbidity parameters decreased from 6-8.5 to 6-7 and 6-12 NTU to 0.1-0.5 NTU, respectively at a filtration time of 720 minutes and a flow rate of 2 L/s. Under these conditions, the efficiency of turbidity reduction is relatively high, ranging from 95-99% with an average of 96%. It can be concluded that the turbidity of the effluent water from the membrane system reached the Indonesian drinking water standard of below 3.0 NTU. The U-type ultrafiltration is a low cost and environmentally friendly drinking water production process due to the absence of any chemical.