In this study, the reclamation of clean water from spent filter backwash water (SFBW) was investigated through pilot-scale experiments. The pilot plant consisted of pre-sedimentation, coagulation, flocculation, clarification, and ultrafiltration (UF). Two coagulants of PAFCl and FeCl3 were investigated with respect to their performance on treated SFBW quality and UF membrane fouling. At the optimum dose of PAFCl and FeCl3 turbidity removal of 99.6 and 99.4% was attained, respectively. PAFCl resulted in an optimum UV254, TOC, and DOC removal of 80, 83.6, and 72.7%, respectively, and FeCl3 caused the removal of those parameters by 76.7, 80.9, and 65.9%, respectively. PAFCl removed hydrophilic and transphilic constituent better than FeCl3, but FeCl3 had, to some extent, higher affinities to a hydrophobic fraction. It was concluded that PAFCl showed a better coagulation performance in most cases and caused a lower membrane fouling rate compared to FeCl3. Finally, the treated SFBW with both coagulant-UF systems met the drinking water standards.
Keywords: Coagulation-UF; FeCl3; PAFCl; Spent filter backwash water (SFBW); Wastewater reuse.