title: A new approach to construct three-dimensional surface morphology of sludge flocs in a membrane bioreactor.
abstract: In this paper, a novel approach to construct three-dimensional (3D) surface morphology of sludge flocs in a membrane bioreactor (MBR) was proposed. The new approach combined the static light scattering method for fractal dimension (Df) determination with the modified two-variable Weierstrass-Mandelbrot (WM) function based on fractal geometry and coordinate transformation for spherical surface construction. It was found that the sludge flocs in the MBR showed apparent fractal characteristics. Results showed that the constructed 3D morphology of sludge flocs was very sensitive to Df, and higher Df induced a more compact and smoother surface morphology. With a set of proper parameter data, the constructed 3D surface morphology of sludge flocs could be quite similar to the real floc surface morphology, showing the feasibility of the proposed approach. The proposed solution to floc surface construction could be potentially used in interfacial interaction assessment, giving important implications for membrane fouling research.
authors: College of Geography and Environmental Sciences, Zhejiang Normal University, Jinhua 321004, PR China; Environmental Science Research and Design Institute of Zhejiang Province, Hangzhou 310007, PR China.
authors: Rongwu
authors: R
authors: Mei
authors: College of Geography and Environmental Sciences, Zhejiang Normal University, Jinhua 321004, PR China.
authors: Renjie
authors: R
authors: Li
authors: College of Geography and Environmental Sciences, Zhejiang Normal University, Jinhua 321004, PR China. Electronic address: jaylin1978@163.com.
authors: Hongjun
authors: H
authors: Lin
authors: Environmental Science Research and Design Institute of Zhejiang Province, Hangzhou 310007, PR China.
authors: Zheping
authors: Z
authors: Shen
authors: College of Geography and Environmental Sciences, Zhejiang Normal University, Jinhua 321004, PR China.
authors: Meijia
authors: M
authors: Zhang
authors: College of Geography and Environmental Sciences, Zhejiang Normal University, Jinhua 321004, PR China.
authors: Jianrong
authors: J
authors: Chen
authors: Department of Materials Physics, Zhejiang Normal University, Jinhua 321004, PR China.
authors: Yiming
authors: Y
authors: He
mesh_terms: D019149:Bioreactors; D005427:Flocculation; D017709:Fractals; D008567:Membranes, Artificial; D008962:Models, Theoretical; D012722:Sewage / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D008567:Membranes, Artificial; D012722:Sewage
keywords: Fractal geometry; Membrane bioreactor; Membrane fouling; Sludge floc; Surface construction