The effects of intermittent aeration on the characteristics of bio-cake layers in a membrane bioreactor.
The effects of a sequencing variation for dissolved oxygen (DO) concentrations on the membrane permeability in a submerged membrane bioreactor (MBR) were studied. An MBR was continuously operated under alternating DO conditions, e.g., 36 h of an aerobic phase, followed by 36 h of an anoxic phase. The rate of increase in transmembrane pressure (TMP) in the anoxic phase was always steeper than that in the aerobic phase, indicating that the fouling rate was higher in the anoxic than in the aerobic condition. Regardless of the phases, the rate of TMP increase became steeper as the cycles were repeated. However, this trend became less important as the cycle numbers increased. Even in identical microbial communities, the number of colloidal particles and soluble extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) in the bulk solution were increased during the anoxic condition, which caused a reduction in the porosity of the bio-cake. During analysis of the bio-cake profile along the cake depth, the temporal variation of the bio-cake structure was attributed to the temporal change in the number of colloidal particles as well as the change in compression forces acting on the bio-cake. The influence of the latter was found to be more important than that of the former, which was verified by comparing the various structures of bio-cake formed in differing DO environments.
Hong
Seok-Hwan
SH
School of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Seoul National University, Seoul 151-744, Korea.
Lee
Woo-Nyoung
WN
Oh
Hyun-Suk
HS
Yeon
Kyung-Min
KM
Hwang
Byung-Kook
BK
Lee
Chung-Hak
CH
Chang
In-Soung
IS
Lee
Sangho
S
D000332:Aerobiosis; D001419:Bacteria / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism*; D019149:Bioreactors; D003102:Colloids / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism; D005109:Extracellular Matrix / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism; D008566:Membranes / Q000737:chemistry*; D010100:Oxygen / Q000737:chemistry*; D010539:Permeability; D016062:Porosity; D012995:Solubility; D013997:Time Factors; D014865:Waste Disposal, Fluid / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods*; D018508:Water Purification / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods*
D003102:Colloids; D010100:Oxygen