Resources recycle of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) wastewater 2: The UF-FO-MD hybrid system and wetting prevention

Wastewater discharge of traditional Chinese medicine production is a serious threat to the environment in China. This study investigated the effectiveness of the UF-FO-MD hybrid system for resources recycle from the TCM wastewater. Real TCM wastewater was treated with the self-assemble UF-FO-MD hybrid system. Moreover, the natural surfactant rejection and the FO fouling impact were evaluated by separate FO operation with synthetic TCM wastewater, and MD wetting was also assessed. Results show that the UF-FO-MD hybrid system successfully isolated the macromolecular substances, bioactive compounds and water in the TCM wastewater for recovering useful resources. Natural surfactants in the TCM wastewater could be effectively rejected by FO, avoiding the subsequent MD wetting problem which has occurred in our previous study on the resource recovering with the UF-MD hybrid system. However, FO membrane fouling might be an issue affecting the recovery efficiency of bioactive compounds from TCM wastewater. The bioactive compounds could not be completely concentrated due to potential adsorption on the fouling layer .