A real trial of a long-term non-fouling membrane bioreactor for saline sewage treatment

2011 ◽  
Vol 63 (7) ◽  
pp. 1519-1523 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peng Bai ◽  
Jin Wang ◽  
Guang-Hao Chen
Keyword(s):  
Membrane Fouling ◽  
Membrane Bioreactor ◽  
Membrane Surface ◽  
Pilot Trial ◽  
Sewage Treatment ◽  
Power Source ◽  
Permeate Flux ◽  
Mixing Condition ◽  
Water Ratio

This paper reports on a pilot trial of a novel MBR developed with coarse-pore membrane module by the authors. The plant was operated for 370 days with up to 7 m3/d raw saline sewage after 3-mm screening. The plant performed successfully without membrane fouling for 270 days except an accidental power source failure for 30 h, during which membrane was fouled under no aeration and mixing condition. EPS increases in both the reactor and the bio-cake on the membrane surface explained this fouling. The average TSS, COD and TKN removal efficiency were 92, 90, and 93%, respectively, under a high effective permeate flux of 4.8 m/d and a low air-to-water ratio of 15.

Influence of humic acid on the long-term performance of direct contact membrane distillation

2018 ◽  
Vol 30 (1) ◽  
pp. 109-120 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dong-Wan Cho ◽  
Gihoon Kwon ◽  
Jeongmin Han ◽  
Hocheol Song
Keyword(s):  
Humic Acid ◽  
Membrane Fouling ◽  
Coalbed Methane ◽  
Direct Contact ◽  
Membrane Surface ◽  
Membrane Distillation ◽  
Permeate Flux ◽  
Direct Contact Membrane Distillation ◽  
High Level

In this study, the influence of humic acid on the treatment of coalbed methane water by direct contact membrane distillation was examined with bench-scale test unit. During short-term distillation (1000 min), high level of humic acid above 50 ppm resulted in significant decrease in permeate flux, while low level of humic acid (∼2 ppm) had little influence on the flux. For the long-term distillation (5000 min), the flux decline began at 3400 min in the presence of 5 ppm humic acid and 5 mM Ca2+, and decreased to ∼40% of initial flux at 5000 min. The spectroscopic analysis of the membrane used revealed that the surface was covered by hydrophilic layers mainly composed of calcite. The membrane fouling effect of humic acid became more significant in the presence of Ca2+ due to more facile calcite formation on the membrane surface. It was demonstrated that humic acid enhanced CaCO3 deposition on the membrane surfaces, thereby expediting the scaling phenomenon.

Pilot trial study of a compact macro-filtration membrane bioreactor process for saline wastewater treatment

2014 ◽  
Vol 70 (1) ◽  
pp. 120-126 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dao Guan ◽  
W. C. Fung ◽  
Frankie Lau ◽  
Chao Deng ◽  
Anthony Leung ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Wastewater Treatment ◽  
Membrane Fouling ◽  
Membrane Bioreactor ◽  
Treatment Process ◽  
Pilot Trial ◽  
Operating Cost ◽  
Oxygen Demand ◽  
Laser Scanning Microscopy ◽  
Permeate Flux ◽  
Saline Wastewater

Conventional membrane bioreactor (MBR) systems have increasingly been studied in recent decades. However, their applications have been limited due to their drawbacks such as low flux, membrane fouling, and high operating cost. In this study, a compact macro-filtration MBR (MfMBR) process was developed by using a large pore size membrane to mitigate the membrane fouling problem. A pilot trial of MfMBR process was set up and operated to treat 10 m3/day of saline wastewater within 4 h. The system was operated under an average permeate flux of 13.1 m3/(m2·day) for 74 days. The average total suspended solids, total chemical oxygen demand, biological oxygen demand, total Kjeldahl nitrogen, and total nitrogen removal efficiencies achieved were 94.3, 83.1, 98.0, 93.1, and 63.3%, respectively, during steady-state operation. The confocal laser scanning microscopy image indicated that the backwash could effectively remove the bio-cake and dead bacteria. Thus, the results showed that the MfMBR process, which is essentially a primary wastewater treatment process, had the potential to yield the same high quality effluent standards as the secondary treatment process; thereby suggesting that it could be used as an option when the economic budget and/or land space is limited.

scholarly journals Reactor performance and membrane fouling of a novel submerged aerobic granular sludge membrane bioreactor during long-term operation

2017 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jianfeng Li ◽  
Yanjun Liu ◽  
Xiaoning Li ◽  
Fangqin Cheng
Keyword(s):  
Membrane Fouling ◽  
Membrane Bioreactor ◽  
Sewage Treatment ◽  
Granular Sludge ◽  
Synthetic Wastewater ◽  
Aerobic Granular Sludge ◽  
Municipal Sewage ◽  
Reactor Performance ◽  
Term Operation

Abstract The aerobic granular sludge membrane bioreactor (AGS-MBR) has the potential for simultaneous carbon/nitrogen removal and membrane fouling mitigation. Most studies have focused on comparison of granular sludge MBR and flocculent sludge MBR in short-term tests using synthetic wastewater. In this study, two identical AGS-MBRs were developed, and the reactor performance and membrane fouling were examined systemically over 120 days for synthetic wastewater and municipal sewage treatment, respectively. Results showed that regular granules with good settling ability were developed and maintained throughout the experimental period. Regardless of the substrate type, AGS-MBR demonstrated a stable removal of carbon (85–95%) and nitrogen (50–55%) in long-term operation. In addition, the membrane fouling propensity is apparently lower in AGS-MBRs with no membrane cleaning for 4 months at a flux of 20 L m−2h−1. The filtration resistance analysis indicates that the main membrane resistance was caused by irreversible fouling in both of the reactors. Membrane foulant analysis indicates that proteins in extracellular polymeric substances are more prone to be attached by the membrane of AGS-MBRs because of their hydrophobic nature. This study shows that AGS-MBR is effective and stable for municipal sewage treatment and reuse during long-term operation.

Electroflocculation as potential pretreatment in colloid ultrafiltration

2006 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 69-78 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. Harif ◽  
M. Hai ◽  
A. Adin
Keyword(s):  
Membrane Fouling ◽  
Colloidal Suspension ◽  
Membrane Surface ◽  
Constant Current ◽  
Permeate Flux ◽  
Batch Mode ◽  
Membrane Behavior ◽  
Flux Decline ◽  
Stainless Steel Cathode ◽  
Marginal Improvement

Electroflocculation (EF) is a coagulation/flocculation process in which active coagulant species are generated in situ by electrolytic oxidation of an appropriate anode material. The effect of colloidal suspension pretreatment by EF on membrane fouling was measured by flux decline at constant pressure. An EF cell was operated in batch mode and comprised two flat sheet electrodes, an aluminium anode and stainless steel cathode, which were immersed in the treated suspension, and connected to an external DC power supply. The cell was run at constant current between 0.06–0.2A. The results show that pre-EF enhances the permeate flux at pH 5 and 6.5, but only marginal improvement is observed at pH 8. At all pH values cake formation on the membrane surface was observed. The differences in membrane behavior can be explained by conventional coagulation theory and transitions between aluminium mononuclear species which affect particle characteristics and consequently cake properties. At pH 6.5, where sweep floc mechanism dominates due to increased precipitation of aluminium hydroxide, increased flux rates were observed. It is evident that EF can serve as an efficient pretreatment to ultrafiltration of colloid particles.

A Wall Film Model for Membrane Fouling

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sina Jahangiri Mamouri ◽  
Volodymyr V. Tarabara ◽  
André Bénard
Keyword(s):  
Multiphase Flow ◽  
Membrane Fouling ◽  
Oil And Gas ◽  
Membrane Separation ◽  
Film Formation ◽  
Membrane Surface ◽  
Permeate Flux ◽  
Water Separation ◽  
Wall Film ◽  
Oil Water

Deoiling of produced or impaired waters associated with oil and gas production represents a significant challenge for many companies. Centrifugation, air flotation, and hydrocyclone separation are the current methods of oil removal from produced water [1], however the efficiency of these methods decreases dramatically for droplets smaller than approximately 15–20 μm. More effective separation of oil-water mixtures into water and oil phases has the potential to both decrease the environmental footprint of the oil and gas industry and improve human well-being in regions such as the Gulf of Mexico. New membrane separation processes and design of systems with advanced flow management offer tremendous potential for improving oil-water separation efficacy. However, fouling is a major challenge in membrane separation [2]. In this study, the behavior of oil droplets and their interaction with crossflow filtration (CFF) membranes (including membrane fouling) is studied using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations. A model for film formation on a membrane surface is proposed for the first time to simulate film formation on membrane surfaces. The bulk multiphase flow is modeled using an Eulerian-Eulerian multiphase flow model. A wall film is developed from mass and momentum balances [3] and implemented to model droplet deposition and membrane surface blockage. The model is used to predict film formation and subsequent membrane fouling, and allow to estimate the actual permeate flux. The results are validated using available experimental data.

Investigation of long-term operation and biomass activity in a membrane bioreactor system

2011 ◽  
Vol 63 (9) ◽  
pp. 1906-1912 ◽  
Author(s):  
Simos Malamis ◽  
Andreas Andreadakis ◽  
Daniel Mamais ◽  
Constantinos Noutsopoulos
Keyword(s):  
Membrane Fouling ◽  
Membrane Bioreactor ◽  
Extracellular Polymeric Substances ◽  
Operating Conditions ◽  
Term Operation ◽  
Solids Retention ◽  
Biomass Activity ◽  
Long Term Performance ◽  
Term Performance

The aim of this work was to evaluate the long-term performance of a Membrane Bioreactor (MBR) that operated continuously for 2.5 years and to assess membrane fouling and biomass activity under various operating conditions. Furthermore, a method for the characterisation of influent wastewater was developed based on its separation into various fractions. The MBR system operated at the solids retention times (SRT) of 10, 15, 20 and 33 days. The increase of SRT resulted in a decrease of the fouling rate associated with the reduction of extracellular polymeric substances. Moreover, the SRT increase resulted in a significant reduction of the Oxygen Uptake Rate (OUR) due to the lower availability of substrate and in a notable decrease of the maximum OUR since high SRT allowed the development of slower growing microorganisms. Biomass consisted of small flocs due to extensive deflocculation caused by intense aeration. Finally, the method developed for wastewater characterisation is straightforward and less time consuming than the usual method that is employed.

scholarly journals Effect of applied voltage on membrane fouling in the amplifying anaerobic electrochemical membrane bioreactor for long-term operation

RSC Advances ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (50) ◽  
pp. 31364-31372
Author(s):  
Mengjing Cao ◽  
Yongxiang Zhang ◽  
Yan Zhang
Keyword(s):  
Chemical Oxygen Demand ◽  
Applied Voltage ◽  
Membrane Fouling ◽  
Membrane Bioreactor ◽  
Glucose Solution ◽  
Oxygen Demand ◽  
Term Operation ◽  
Long Time

A novel and amplifying anaerobic electrochemical membrane bioreactor was constructed and operated for a long time (204 days) with synthetic glucose solution having an average chemical oxygen demand (COD) of 315 mg L−1, at different applied voltages and room temperatures.

scholarly journals Characterization of the Initial Fouling Layer on the Membrane Surface in a Membrane Bioreactor: Effects of Permeation Drag

Membranes ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (9) ◽  
pp. 121
Author(s):  
Shengli Wang ◽  
Xin Lu ◽  
Lanhe Zhang ◽  
Jingbo Guo ◽  
Haifeng Zhang
Keyword(s):  
Zeta Potential ◽  
Electron Donor ◽  
Energy Barrier ◽  
Polyvinylidene Fluoride ◽  
Membrane Bioreactor ◽  
Membrane Surface ◽  
Permeate Flux ◽  
Pvdf Membrane ◽  
Operating Modes

In this study, the properties of the initial fouling layer on the membrane surface of a bioreactor were investigated under different operating modes (with or without permeate flux) to improve the understanding of the effect of permeation drag on the formation of the initial fouling layer. It was found that protein was the major component in the two types of initial fouling layers, and that the permeation drag enhanced the tryptophan protein-like substances. The attraction of the initial foulants to the polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) membrane was ascribed to the high zeta potential and electron donor component (γ−) of the membrane. Thermodynamic analyses showed that the permeation drag-induced fouling layer possessed high hydrophobicity and low γ−. Due to permeation drag, a portion of the foulants overcame an energy barrier before they contacted the membrane surface, which itself possessed a higher fouling propensity. A declining trend of the cohesive strength among the foulants was found with the increasing development of both fouling layers.

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