Comparison of membrane foulants occurred under different sub-critical flux conditions in a membrane bioreactor (MBR)

•A higher fouling propensity was caused by the soluble proteins and polysaccharides.•The cell-bound proteins and polysaccharides were dominant in hydrophobic membrane.•Proteins and polysaccharides were mostly in the middle of the cake layer thickness. Membrane fouling precludes the widespread applic...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Bioresource technology 2014-08, Vol.166, p.389-394
Main Authors: Nguyen, Tran-Ngoc-Phu, Su, Yu-Chun, Pan, Jill Ruhsing, Huang, Chihpin
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Biofouling
Biological and medical sciences
Bioreactors
Biotechnology
Cakes
Extracellular polymeric substances
Flux
Fouling
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Membrane bioreactor
Membrane foulants
Membranes
Membranes, Artificial
Methods. Procedures. Technologies
Polysaccharides
Proteins
Sub-critical flux
Various methods and equipments
Waste water
Waste Water - chemistry
Water Purification - methods
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:•A higher fouling propensity was caused by the soluble proteins and polysaccharides.•The cell-bound proteins and polysaccharides were dominant in hydrophobic membrane.•Proteins and polysaccharides were mostly in the middle of the cake layer thickness. Membrane fouling precludes the widespread application of membrane filtration system from treating wastewater and drinking water, and occurs even under sub-critical flux operations. Hence the characteristics and behavior of membrane foulants should be thoroughly investigated, so as to find ways to reduce membrane fouling in membrane bioreactors. The purpose of this study is to compare the membrane fouling potential at different sub-critical flux operations and for different hydrophobic/hydrophilic membranes, and to investigate the vertical distribution of membrane foulants in a cake layer. Results showed that higher fouling propensity which occurred under 80% of critical flux of hydrophilic membrane was associated with the soluble fraction of proteins and polysaccharides, compared with 60% of critical flux. The cell-bound components were dominant under hydrophobic membrane operation. The highest concentration of proteins and polysaccharides was found between 40% and 80% of the depth of the cake layer.
ISSN:0960-8524
1873-2976
DOI:10.1016/j.biortech.2014.05.073