336 Int. J. Environmental Technology and Management, Vol. 13, Nos. 3/4, 2010 Copyright © 2010 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd. Comparative study on treatment of kitchen-sink wastewater using single and multichannel ceramic membrane Sourja Ghosh, Priyankari Bhattacharya, Swachchha Majumdar, Subrata Dasgupta* and Sibdas Bandyopadhyay Ceramic Membrane Division, Central Glass and Ceramic Research Institute (CGCRI), Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, Kolkata 700 032, India Email: sourja@cgcri.res.in Email: priyankari2004@yahoo.co.in Email: swachchha@cgcri.res.in Email: sdasgupta@cgcri.res.in Email: sibdas@cgcri.res.in *Corresponding author Abstract: A comparative study was conducted to explore the potential of ceramic microfiltration membrane alone and in combination with different physicochemical treatments, viz. biotreatment and adsorption using kitchen- sink wastewater. Cross-flow microfiltration (CMF) studies were carried out with tubular ceramic membrane in single channel and multichannel configuration. Biotreatment was studied using activated sludge process and adsorptive treatments were studied using a biosorbent prepared from the dried roots of Eichhornia crassipes, an aquatic weed which is abundantly grown in polluted water. The study showed better performance of 19 channel ceramic membrane compared to the single channel membrane in terms of the permeate quality, viz. BOD, COD, turbidity, TSS etc., as well as, permeate flux. Microfiltration of the adsorbent treated feed appeared to be most promising in comparison with the other feeds wherein, about 98% removal of BOD and 99% removal of COD were obtained. The quality of the treated water was found to be fit for use in horticulture, irrigation, etc. Keywords: kitchen-sink wastewater; microfiltration; ceramic membrane; biosorbent; biotreatment. Reference to this paper should be made as follows: Ghosh, S., Bhattacharya, P., Majumdar, S., Dasgupta, S. and Bandyopadhyay, S. (2010) ‘Comparative study on treatment of kitchen-sink wastewater using single and multichannel ceramic membrane’, Int. J. Environmental Technology and Management, Vol. 13, Nos. 3/4, pp.336–347. Biographical notes: Sourja Ghosh is Scientist in the Ceramic Membrane Division of Central Glass and Ceramic Research Institute, India. She has been involved in development of ceramic membrane based processes for treatment of different types of wastewater. Her research interests include membrane based solid-liquid filtration and gas-liquid contacting processes.