title: New insights into membrane fouling in submerged MBR under sub-critical flux condition.
abstract: This study investigated the membrane fouling in MBRs under sub-critical flux condition. Results showed membrane fouling at subcritical flux evolved through a three-stage process: a slow linear increase in transmembrane pressure (TMP) (stage I), followed by an exponential increase in TMP (stage II), and finally a rapid linear TMP rise was observed at stage III. It was found that bound EPS would play a significant role in fouling development at stage I, while SMPs appeared to be the major contributor to self-accelerating fouling phenomena observed at stage II. At stage III, the entire membrane was covered by a cake layer of flocs, as the result, the fouling rate was likely determined by floc characteristics. This study offers new insights into the fouling development under sub-critical flux condition.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Resources and Environmental Engineering, Shanxi University, Taiyuan 030006, PR China. lijianfeng@sxu.edu.cn
authors.forename: Jianfeng
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Xiuxiu
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Fangqin
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Cheng
authors.forename: Yu
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Liu
mesh_terms: D057219:Biofouling; D018533:Biomass; D019149:Bioreactors; D008567:Membranes, Artificial
chemical_list: D008567:Membranes, Artificial