Effect of imposed flux on fouling behavior in high rate membrane bioreactor

M. A. H. Johir, J. George, S. Vigneswaran, J. Kandasamy, A. Sathasivan, A. Grasmick

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    20 Citations (Scopus)

    Abstract

    The influence of imposed flux and aeration rates on membrane fouling in a submerged membrane bioreactor was studied. The experiments were conducted at four imposed fluxes and three aeration rates. The effect of flux on the reduction of membrane fouling was much higher than that caused by aeration rate. A lower flux of 20 L/m2 h produced 75 times more water than a higher flux of 40 L/m2 h with an aeration rate of 2 L/min. Low flux showed slightly higher removal of NH4-N and 93-96% removal of dissolved organic matter and chemical oxygen demand. Imposed flux also had a significant effect on the composition of organics present in the soluble microbial product (SMP) and extracellular polymeric substances (EPS). At a higher flux, both SMP and EPS had organics of high molecular weight (MW) of around 48 kDa as well as lower MW organics below 200 Da.
    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)42-49
    Number of pages8
    JournalBioresources Technology
    Volume122
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 2012

    Keywords

    • biofilms
    • fouling
    • imposed flux
    • membrane bioreactor
    • membranes (technology)
    • microbial polymers
    • wastewater treatment

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