title: Influence of suspension viscosity and colloidal particles on permeability of membrane used in membrane bioreactor (MBR).
abstract: In this study, pilot scale experiments were carried out to examine membrane fouling occurring in membrane bioreactors (MBR) with or without pre-treatment (coagulation/sedimentation). Especially, the influence of suspension viscosity and dissolved organic matter (DOM) on membrane fouling was investigated. The pre-coagulation/sedimentation process improved the performance of a MBR in terms of membrane permeability by controlling irreversible fouling and formation of thick cake layer. The upper limit of MLSS concentration for an efficient operation in MBR without pre-treatment was suggested to be around 10 g/L based on the measurement of suspension viscosity. In this study, it was difficult to directly relate membrane fouling to DOM detected in the membrane chamber. A series of laboratory scale dead-end filtration experiments was carried out to investigate which fractions in biomass suspension would be the most influential in the deterioration of membrane permeability. Based on the dead-end tests, it was shown that the deterioration of membrane permeability was mainly caused by the colloidal particle fraction in the biomass suspension.
authors.affiliation: Department of Urban and Environmental Engineering, Hokkaido University, Kita-ku, Sapporo 060-8628, Japan.
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Itonaga
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kimura
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Watanabe
mesh_terms: D018533:Biomass; D019149:Bioreactors; D003102:Colloids / Q000737:chemistry*; D005374:Filtration; D008567:Membranes, Artificial; D009930:Organic Chemicals / Q000302:isolation & purification; D010316:Particle Size; D010539:Permeability; D012722:Sewage / Q000737:chemistry / Q000382:microbiology; D013997:Time Factors; D014783:Viscosity; D014865:Waste Disposal, Fluid / Q000379:methods*; D018508:Water Purification / Q000379:methods*
chemical_list: D003102:Colloids; D008567:Membranes, Artificial; D009930:Organic Chemicals; D012722:Sewage