title: Osmotic pressure effect on membrane fouling in a submerged anaerobic membrane bioreactor and its experimental verification.
abstract: A laboratory-scale submerged anaerobic membrane bioreactor (SAnMBR) treating sewage was used to investigate the membrane fouling mechanism. Characterization of cake layer formed on membrane surface showed that cake layer was hydrated, rich of extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) and negative charged with the charge density of 0.21-0.46 meq/kg MLSS. Detailed analysis revealed a new membrane fouling mechanism, osmotic pressure during cake layer filtration process due to the interception of ions. An osmotic pressure model was then developed to elaborate the existence of osmotic pressure and to estimate the contribution of osmotic pressure to membrane fouling. The calculated results showed that osmotic pressure accounted for the largest fraction of total operation pressure, indicating that osmotic pressure generated by the retained ions was one of the major mechanisms responsible for membrane fouling problem in MBRs. These findings provided a new insight into membrane fouling in MBRs.
authors.affiliation: College of Geography and Environmental Sciences, Zhejiang Normal University, 688 Yingbin Avenue, Jinhua, Zhejiang Province 321004, PR China.
authors.forename: Jianrong
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Meijia
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Aijun
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Hongjun
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.forename: Huachang
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Hong
authors.forename: Xiaofeng
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Lu
mesh_terms: D001421:Bacteria, Anaerobic / Q000502:physiology*; D001422:Bacterial Adhesion / Q000502:physiology; D018441:Biofilms / Q000254:growth & development*; D019149:Bioreactors / Q000382:microbiology*; D003198:Computer Simulation; D004867:Equipment Design; D004868:Equipment Failure; D019544:Equipment Failure Analysis; D008567:Membranes, Artificial; D008954:Models, Biological; D009997:Osmotic Pressure / Q000502:physiology
chemical_list: D008567:Membranes, Artificial