The comparison between two methods of membrane cleaning to control membrane fouling in a hybrid membrane photobioreactor (HMPBR)

• Published in: Preparative biochemistry & biotechnology 2023, Vol.53 (4), p.394-400
• Main Authors: Keyvan Hosseini, Mahsa, Keyvan Hosseini, Parisa, Helchi, Salar, Pajoum Shariati, Farshid
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Aeration; Cleaning; Food; fouling; hybrid membrane photobioreactor; mechanical cleaning; Membrane processes; Membranes; Orifices; Packing; Photobioreactors; Proteins; Spargers
• ISSN: 1082-6068; 1532-2297
• DOI: 10.1080/10826068.2022.2095574

In this study, the effect of two membrane cleaning methods, such as aeration and addition of granular particles in a hybrid membrane photobioreactor (HMPBR) including Spirulina sp. with the concentration of 1.5 g·L −1 was investigated. Three different spargers [i.e., different diameters of orifice (d o ): 0.5, 1, and 1.5 mm] and granular particles (i.e., three packing ratios of 0.5, 1, and 1.5%) were used. The results showed that with the increase in granular packing ratio, R c /R t decreased significantly. The best result was achieved by combining aeration with an orifice diameter of 1.5 mm and a granular packing ratio of 1.5%, which led to the lowest R c /R t value (0.38), while R c /R t value with a d o of 1.5 mm was 0.68 without particles. In contrast, the ratio of pore blocking resistance to total resistance (R p /R t ) increased by 4.2% under the combined application of 1.5 mm of orifice diameter and 1.5% of granular packing ratio. The results from protein concentrations in the cake layer showed that as the d o became larger, cake protein concentration decreased by 40%, whereas increasing the granular packing ratio from 0.5 to 1.5% increased protein concentration by 60% in the cake layer.