Review
Engineering, Environmental
Recep Kaya, Mustafa Evren Ersahin, Hale Ozgun, Borte Kose-Mutlu, Mehmet Emin Pasaoglu, Ismail Koyuncu
Summary: Membrane bioreactor (MBR) technology is considered a promising method for advanced wastewater treatment due to its high-quality effluent. However, fouling caused by intensive activated sludge used in submerged MBR systems is a major issue. To overcome this problem, researchers have explored the use of vibratory processes in MBRs. This review aims to gather current efforts in fouling control by vibratory motion, specifically in submerged activated sludge membrane bioreactors, and presents a comparative analysis of different vibration types and their experimental results.
JOURNAL OF WATER PROCESS ENGINEERING
(2023)
Article
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
Jianbo Liu, Faqian Sun, Panyue Zhang, Yan Zhou
Summary: The study introduced a novel APQ bead technology, which effectively alleviated MBR biofouling by reducing concentrations of EPS and AHL, extending operational period. This technology showed potential for biofouling control.
JOURNAL OF CLEANER PRODUCTION
(2021)
Article
Engineering, Environmental
H. Taherizadeh, S. A. Hashemifard, A. A. Izadpanah, A. F. Ismail
Summary: The study demonstrated that modifying PVC polymer with zinc oxide nanoparticles and using ferric chloride coagulant for municipal wastewater treatment is an effective technique to meet standard levels and improve nitrogen and phosphorus removal efficiency.
JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL CHEMICAL ENGINEERING
(2021)
Article
Engineering, Environmental
Yuan Fang, Dengyue Chen, Yan Zhang, Robert Field, Jun Jie Wu, Bing Wang
Summary: This study presents a novel corrugated-sheet MBR with optimized hydrodynamics and air consumption to improve fouling issues. The study introduces a new corrugated sheet (CS) membrane that has a similar configuration to a standard flat sheet (FS) membrane but with a much thinner thickness. Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulation and experiments were conducted to compare the hydrodynamics and fouling of the CS membrane with the FS membrane. Based on the results, a large-scale CS-MBR was designed with consideration of different aerator designs, deck spacing, and aeration rate.
JOURNAL OF WATER PROCESS ENGINEERING
(2022)
Article
Engineering, Environmental
Leila Karimi, Hossein Hazrati, Soorena Gharibian, Hanieh Shokrkar
Summary: This study investigated the impact of different anode/cathode materials, electrode gap sizes, and voltage levels on reducing membrane fouling in a lab-scale EMBR system. The results showed that Fe/Al material type for cathode and anode, with an electrode gap of 1.5 cm and 1 V voltage, performed best in reducing membrane fouling and decreasing carbohydrate, protein, and membrane fouling substances. Additionally, operational conditions of EMBR6 demonstrated high efficiency in COD removal and reduced sludge production significantly.
JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL CHEMICAL ENGINEERING
(2021)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Chenhao Gong, Xiaojing Ren, Zhongguo Zhang, Yuwei Sun, Haiou Huang
Summary: This study investigates the membrane fouling mechanism in low pressure reverse osmosis (LPRO) and the effectiveness of electrocoagulation (EC) treatment in controlling membrane fouling. The results show that EC pretreatment can effectively reduce membrane fouling and enhance membrane flux by removing or decomposing the organic pollutants in pulp and paper wastewater (PPWW). The major foulants for LPRO membranes in PPWW are identified as humic acid-like and fulvic acid-like organics, which contain benzoic rings and carboxylic groups. EC treatment successfully removes these organic pollutants and improves the membrane fouling control.
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND POLLUTION RESEARCH
(2022)
Article
Engineering, Chemical
Mengjiao Yan, Kangying Guo, Yue Gao, Qinyan Yue, Baoyu Gao
Summary: This study investigates the coagulation-ultrafiltration integrated process for oily wastewater treatment. It is found that polyaluminum chloride (PAC) is more effective than AlCl3 and Fe based coagulants. The PAC-PDMDAAC coagulation system forms large and loose flocs, indicating efficient removal of oil droplets.
SEPARATION AND PURIFICATION TECHNOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Jing Zhu, Hong You, How Yong Ng, Zhipeng Li, Binghan Xie, Hongying Chen, Yi Ding, Haili Tan, Feng Liu, Chunpeng Zhang
Summary: This study investigated the impacts of bio-carriers on membrane fouling in membrane bioreactors (MBRs) for high saline mariculture wastewater treatment. The results showed that bio-carriers effectively improved the characteristics of cake layer, reduced the adhesion of proteins and humic acid-like materials on membrane surface, and shifted the precise composition of cake layers.
Article
Environmental Sciences
Gen-Qiang Chen, Yin-Hu Wu, Yu-Jun Tan, Zhuo Chen, Xing Tong, Yuan Bai, Li-Wei Luo, Hao-Bin Wang, Yu-Qing Xu, Zi-Wei Zhang, Nozomu Ikuno, Hong-Ying Hu
Summary: This study aimed to investigate the effects of adsorption and coagulation pretreatment on reverse osmosis (RO) membrane fouling during dyeing wastewater treatment. The results showed that adsorption with granular activated carbon (GAC) could remove most of the dissolved organic matters (DOM) in the wastewater, while coagulants such as polyferric sulfate (PFS) and polyaluminum chloride (PACl) preferred to remove polysaccharides and high-MW compounds with high fouling potential. The pretreatment with GAC and PFS successfully alleviated the fouling potential of the dyeing wastewater.
Article
Engineering, Environmental
Fang Gao, Lingyun Li, Yanwei Shi, Xiaofei Xue, Jianhua Mao, Linlin Xing, Xiaoyan Yao
Summary: The study investigated the removal of pollutants in coal-to-hydrogen wastewater using the anoxic/aerobic membrane bioreactor (A/O-MBR) system. The results showed that the system effectively removed chemical oxygen demand, ammonia nitrogen, and total phenols. The study also used the Extended Derjaguin-Landau-Verwey-Overbeek (XDLVO) approach to predict membrane fouling and cleaning mechanisms in the MBR system. The findings provided insights into the fouling and cleaning mechanisms of the MBR system and demonstrated the successful application of A/O-MBR for bio-refractory CGW treatment with NaClO chemically enhanced backwash.
PROCESS SAFETY AND ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
(2023)
Article
Engineering, Environmental
Soorena Gharibian, Hossein Hazrati
Summary: This study reports the enhanced treatment of pharmaceutical wastewater through the integration of Electrooxidation (EO) with Membrane Bio-Reactor (MBR). The results showed improved removal of COD and BOD5, as well as reduced membrane fouling in the integrated EO-MBR system.
Article
Environmental Sciences
Tanissorn Buakaew, Chavalit Ratanatamskul
Summary: A novel anaerobic baffled biofilm-membrane bioreactor with microaeration (AnBB-MBR) was developed to enhance VFA and nitrogen removal from building wastewater. Microaeration significantly improved microbial richness and diversity, leading to better removal of acetic acid and dissolved methane. The integration of microaeration with sludge recirculation further enhanced NH4+-N removal. Membrane fouling was minimized in the AnBB-MBR system with microaeration.
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
(2023)
Article
Engineering, Environmental
Toru Sugiyama, Yui Ito, Akira Hafuka, Katsuki Kimura
Summary: This study investigated the application of a simple pretreatment using fixed biofilms to address the issues of severe membrane fouling and high concentrations of organic matter remaining in direct membrane filtration (DMF) of municipal wastewater. The results showed that the pretreatment significantly reduced membrane fouling and lowered the concentration of organic matter in the DMF permeate, with microfiltration (MF) membranes being more suitable for efficient DMF compared to ultrafiltration (UF) membranes.
Article
Engineering, Environmental
Toru Sugiyama, Yui Ito, Akira Hafuka, Katsuki Kimura
Summary: Considerable attention has been paid to the recovery and utilization of organic matter in municipal wastewater for the establishment of a circular economy. This study investigated the use of a simple pretreatment method involving fixed biofilms to address membrane fouling and high concentrations of organic matter in direct membrane filtration (DMF) of municipal wastewater. The results showed that the pretreatment successfully reduced membrane fouling and decreased the concentration of organic matter in the DMF permeate. Additionally, it was found that microfiltration (MF) membranes were more suitable than ultrafiltration (UF) membranes for efficient DMF.
Article
Engineering, Chemical
Bing Zhang, Heli Tang, Chong Liu, Mingliang Wang, Wenlong Li, Bing Zhang, Yu Shen, Wenxin Shi
Summary: By studying the fouling mechanisms of anionic polyacrylamide (APAM) in high-salinity environments, it was found that both divalent cations Ca2+ and Mg2+ aggravated membrane fouling. Compared to hydrated Mg2+, hydrated Ca2+ has a larger charge density and can form regular porous complexes with APAM carboxylate, resulting in weaker osmotic pressure. Therefore, lower fouling resistances and higher flux recovery rates were achieved in the case of Ca2+.