High Turbidity Water Treatment

How Can Microfiltration Systems Help Manage High Turbidity Water Sources?

Microfiltration systems help produce high-quality water from challenging surface water sources by removing suspended solids, bacteria, cysts and oocysts. They are commonly used when facilities need to manage fluctuations in water quality and maintain consistent treatment performance during periods of elevated turbidity.

In this dairy application, a Pall Aria™ Microfiltration System was implemented to help manage periods of elevated turbidity while supporting increased production requirements.

Pall Aria™ AP microfiltration system for high turbidity water treatment applications

The Challenge

As production increased, the dairy required larger volumes of treated water while continuing to rely on river water as its primary source. Water quality varied significantly throughout the year due to weather conditions including snowmelt, heavy rainfall and runoff.

The existing clarification process was unable to consistently manage peak turbidity levels. During these periods, treated water quality could become inconsistent, resulting in operational challenges and increased treatment costs.

Why Was Microfiltration Selected?

Microfiltration was selected to help the dairy:

Manage fluctuations in surface water quality
Address seasonal turbidity events

Maintain consistent treated water quality
Support increasing production requirements

The Solution

The Pall Aria Microfiltration System uses hollow fiber membrane technology and advanced bonding techniques. With a nominal pore size of 0.1 μm, the membranes remove suspended solids, bacteria, cysts and oocysts from incoming water.

Following installation, the system consistently produced high-quality water despite fluctuations in source water conditions.

How Does the System Maintain Performance During Turbidity Peaks?

To help maintain consistent water quality despite fluctuations in source water conditions, Pall developed several operating and maintenance techniques designed to support membrane performance and reliable system operation.

These operating techniques included:

Flux reduction: Membrane flux could be temporarily reduced during periods of increased turbidity.
Air backwash: Air-backwash procedures helped remove solids retained on the membrane surface.
Automated cleaning: Cleaning sequences and maintenance cycles supported long-term operation.
Maintenance cleaning: Regular cleaning helped maintain membrane efficiency and operational performance.