The quality of landfill leachate feed water is complex and varies significantly with seasons and climatic conditions. Research indicates that feed water quality has a crucial impact on membrane fouling. Identifying the types of pollutants in the feed water quality can be used to determine the chemical cleaning method for membrane fouling. Pollutant types in water quality can be classified into four main categories: inorganic substances, organic substances, colloids, and microorganisms.

Feed water quality greatly influences membrane fouling. Pretreatment of water quality can be performed before DTRO and MBR processes. Although the DTRO membrane system has relatively low requirements for feed water quality, implementing pretreatment can ensure the economically efficient operation of the overall process, thereby reducing operating costs.