Ceramic ultrafiltration is a promising technology for water reclamation, but issues with membrane fouling and the removal of organic micro-pollutants have limited its development. Recent research has shown that catalysis-based ultrafiltration has the potential to address these problems. In this study, catalysis-modified (CuFe2O4 and Pd) ultrafiltration was investigated for fouling mitigation and organic micro-pollutant removal.

The membranes were successfully synthesized and it was found that using Fenton oxidation (a combination of CuFe2O4 membrane with H2O2 backwash) had a 93.9% higher cleaning efficiency than applying demi-water. Besides, it was found that the backwash flux and backwash time were crucial in determining the cleaning efficiency of Fenton oxidation, with a smaller backwash flux or longer backwash time resulting in better permeability recovery.

However, the application of Fenton oxidation was also found to be limited by the instability of the CuFe2O4 catalyst in acidic environment, and the problem of catalyst leaching led to a decrease in cleaning efficiency. Additionally, it was discovered that using PMS oxidation was more effective for OMPs removal compared to Fenton oxidation, with a removal efficiency of up to
90%. Overall, this work demonstrated the potential of catalyst-coated ultrafiltration for water treatment and highlighted the benefits of combining membrane filtration with advanced oxidation processes.