Integrated Hydraulic and Mathematical Evaluation of Flat Sheet Polyamide Reverse Osmosis Membranes for Poultry Slaughterhouse Wastewater Treatment

Reuse of industrial wastewater contributes to the conservation of freshwater resources and the implementation of the principles of the circular economy. In this study, the cyclic performance of a flat-sheet polyamide reverse osmosis membrane (PA-RO) for the advanced treatment of wastewater from a poultry slaughterhouse, pretreated by dissolved air flotation (DAF), was evaluated. The membrane was operated at three recirculation flow rates in successive filtration and chemical cleaning cycles to evaluate its hydraulic behavior, retention efficiency, fouling evolution, and permeate quality. Among the conditions investigated, the recirculation flow rate of 0.5 L/min provided the highest hydraulic stability and flux recovery under the investigated conditions, although hydraulic and microbiological performances were not optimized under the same operating conditions. The progressive deterioration of membrane performance during cyclic operation was associated with the accumulation of reversible and irreversible fouling, evidenced by the increase in hydraulic resistances and the incomplete flux recovery after chemical cleaning. Hierarchical clustering analysis (HCA) and mathematical modeling revealed strong relationships between operating conditions, membrane performance, and fouling evolution, generating predictive models with high coefficients of determination. The results demonstrate the potential of the cyclic operation of the PA-RO membrane to obtain a high-quality permeate intended for industrial reuse and provide a practical framework for optimizing operating conditions and fouling control strategies in membrane wastewater treatment processes.