title: MBR fouling control and permeate quality enhancement by polyaluminium chloride dosage: a case study.
abstract: Scope of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of a metal salt (polyaluminium chloride, PACl) dosage into a pilot-scale MBR (membrane bioreactor) in terms of fouling control and permeate quality enhancement, especially with reference to specific textile macro-pollutants (dyes and surfactants). The pilot plant was fed with a mixed domestic-textile wastewater (textile wastewater accounted for 65% of total flow and for 70% of total chemical oxygen demand, COD, load) and operated for 7.5 months without flux enhancers (step 1) and 3 months with the addition of PACl (step 2). The optimum dose was defined performing a jar-test campaign between step 1 and step 2 (12.5 mg gMLSS(-1) that corresponds to 0.4 g d(-1)). The addition of PACl resulted in a significant decrease of the filtration resistance due to cake layer formation (R(c), -65.4%) and of the irreversible fouling rate, evaluated as the average variation per unit time of the filtration resistance due to foulants adsorption on membrane pore wall (FR, -45.3%). As for permeate quality, removal rates related to total phosphorus and textile macro-parameters such as colour and anionic surfactants, increased by +64, +16 and +7%, respectively. No significant effect was observed on COD, non-ionic surfactants and nitrogen compounds removal.
authors: Politecnico di Milano, DIIAR, Environmental Section, Piazza Leonardo da Vinci 32, 20133 Milano, Italy. aronne.teli@mail.polimi.it
authors: A
authors: A
authors: Teli
authors: M
authors: M
authors: Antonelli
authors: L
authors: L
authors: Bonomo
authors: F
authors: F
authors: Malpei
mesh_terms: D000536:Aluminum Hydroxide / Q000737:chemistry*; D057219:Biofouling; D019149:Bioreactors; D008567:Membranes, Artificial; D010865:Pilot Projects; D014865:Waste Disposal, Fluid / Q000379:methods*; D018508:Water Purification / Q000379:methods
chemical_list: D008567:Membranes, Artificial; C016213:aluminum oxychloride; D000536:Aluminum Hydroxide