Presented at the conference on Membranes in Drinking and Industrial Water Production, L’Aquila, Italy, 15–17 November 2004. Organized by the European Desalination Society. 0011-9164/05/$– See front matter © 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved Desalination 179 (2005) 297–305 Disinfection of surface waters with UF membranes Alessia Di Zio, Marina Prisciandaro*, Diego Barba Dipartimento di Chimica, Ingegneria Chimica e Materiali, Università dell’Aquila, Monteluco di Roio, 67040 L’Aquila (AQ), Italy Tel. +39 (0862) 434255; Fax: +39 (0862) 434203; email: maripri@ing.univaq.it Received 29 September 2004; accepted 22 November 2004 Abstract Different kinds of surface waters (natural and synthetic) were tested for disinfection by using membranes on a laboratory-scale apparatus equipped with an ultrafiltration membrane. Water with different hardness (5°F to 50°F) and organic loads were studied, and the results show that ultrafiltration can be considered as a reliable process to disinfect surface water, especially in those cases where a quick and easy transportable apparatus is needed. The results were interpreted by using the resistance model through the fit of the experimental results, and the estimated parameters are given. Keywords: Disinfection; Membrane; Potabilization; Surface waters; Ultrafiltration 1. Introduction Water is a primary need for humans; it con- stitutes about 70% of the body, and it is used in industry to produce every kind of product. Thus, it is essential not only for man’s survival, but also for his economic development. Natural waters are the final product of an antropic action on territory and consequently on water resources, so its quality and quantity are often at risk. The bacteri- ological quality of water for human consumption *Corresponding author. represents the traditional feature of the water potabilization problem. Among different treatments for water pota- bilization, disinfection is the one that plays a major role and that separates potabilization processes from other treatments devoted to water reuse. Disinfection is intended to be the partial destruction of pathogenic organisms; not all pathogens are destroyed during this process, and this is what differentiates disinfection from the sterilization process, which assures the total removal of microbial matter [1].