Permeability decline in nanofiltration/reverse osmosis membranes fed with municipal wastewater treated by a membrane bioreactor

2013 ◽  
Vol 67 (9) ◽  
pp. 1994-1999 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katsuki Kimura ◽  
Naoko Ogawa ◽  
Yoshimasa Watanabe
Keyword(s):  
Organic Matter ◽  
Reverse Osmosis ◽  
Membrane Bioreactor ◽  
Municipal Wastewater ◽  
Membrane Surface ◽  
Chemical Cleaning ◽  
Filtration Resistance ◽  
Cake Layer ◽  
Total Filtration ◽  
Ro Membrane

Decline in the permeability in nanofiltration (NF)/reverse osmosis (RO) membranes that filtered effluents from a membrane bioreactor (MBR) treating municipal wastewater was investigated in this study. Four different 2-inch spiral-wound NF/RO membrane elements were continuously operated for 40 days. The results showed that the amount of deposits on the membrane surface did not affect the degree of permeability decline. Laboratory-scale filtration tests with coupons obtained from the fouled membranes also revealed that the contribution of the gel/cake layer to total filtration resistance was minor. Rather, constituents that were strongly bound to the membranes were mainly responsible for permeability decline. Chemical cleaning of the fouled membranes carried out after removal of the cake showed that silica played an important role in the decline in permeability. A considerable amount of organic matter which was mainly composed of carbohydrates and proteins was also desorbed from the fouled membranes.

Impact of chemical cleaning and air-sparging on the critical and sustainable flux in a flat sheet membrane bioreactor for municipal wastewater treatment

2008 ◽  
Vol 57 (12) ◽  
pp. 1873-1879 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. Guglielmi ◽  
D. Chiarani ◽  
D. P. Saroj ◽  
G. Andreottola
Keyword(s):  
Membrane Bioreactor ◽  
Municipal Wastewater ◽  
Membrane Surface ◽  
Municipal Wastewater Treatment ◽  
Chemical Cleaning ◽  
Critical Flux ◽  
Submerged Membrane Bioreactor ◽  
Flat Sheet ◽  
Exponential Trend ◽  
Flat Sheet Membrane

The paper discusses the experimental optimisation of both chemical and mechanical cleaning procedures for a flat-sheet submerged membrane bioreactor fed with municipal wastewater. Fouling was evaluated by means of the critical flux concept, which was experimentally measured by short-term flux-stepping tests. By keeping constant most important parameters of the biological process (MLSS, sludge age), two different chemical cleaning protocols (2,000 mg L−1 NaOCl and 200 mg L−1 NaOCl) were applied with different frequency and, after approximately 9 months of operation, the criticality threshold was determined under different values of SADm (specific aeration demand per unit of membrane surface area). The weaker and more frequent chemical cleaning regime (200 mg L−1, monthly) proved much more effective than the stronger and less frequent strategy (2,000 mg L−1, once every three months). The improvement of performances was quantified by two TMP-based parameters, the fouling rate and the ΔTMP (difference between TMP values during the increasing and decreasing phase of hysteresis). The best performing configuration was then checked over a longer period by running four long-term trials showing an exponential trend of the sub-critical fouling rate with the imposed flux.

scholarly journals Removal characteristics of dissolved organic matter and membrane fouling in ultrafiltration and reverse osmosis membrane combine processes treating the secondary effluent of wastewater treatment plant

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jianwei Liu ◽  
Mengfei Zhao ◽  
Cui Duan ◽  
Peng Yue ◽  
Tinggang Li
Keyword(s):  
Organic Matter ◽  
Wastewater Treatment ◽  
Humic Acid ◽  
Fulvic Acid ◽  
Reverse Osmosis ◽  
Membrane Fouling ◽  
Municipal Wastewater ◽  
Treatment Plant ◽  
Municipal Wastewater Treatment ◽  
Ro Membrane

Abstract The widespread implementation of municipal wastewater treatment and reuse must first ensure the safety of reused wastewater. The effluent of the municipal wastewater treatment plant contains a large amount of dissolved organic matter (DOM), which adversely affects the reuse of wastewater. In this study, the ultrafiltration (UF) + reverse osmosis (RO) process was used to treat the effluent from wastewater treatment plants. The relationship between the removal performance, membrane fouling of the UF + RO process, and DOM characteristics of influent were studied. The results show that DOM can be removed effectively by UF + RO process. The UF mainly removes DOM with a molecular weight greater than 10 kDa, while RO has a significant removal effect on low-molecular DOM, which mainly cause UF and RO membrane fouling. The UF + RO process has a significant removal rate on fulvic acid, humic acid, tyrosine, and tryptophan, and the order is humic acid > fulvic acid > tyrosine > tryptophan. Fulvic acid contributed the most to the UF membrane fouling, while fulvic acid and protein-like proteins contributed mainly to the RO membrane fouling.

scholarly journals Biofouling of FeNP-Coated SWRO Membranes with Bacteria Isolated after Pre-Treatment in the Sea of Cortez

Coatings ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (7) ◽  
pp. 462 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria Magdalena Armendáriz-Ontiveros ◽  
Gustavo A. Fimbres Weihs ◽  
Sergio de los Santos Villalobos ◽  
Sergio G. Salinas-Rodriguez
Keyword(s):  
Organic Matter ◽  
Layer Thickness ◽  
Reverse Osmosis ◽  
Optical Density ◽  
Membrane Biofouling ◽  
Cake Layer ◽  
Ro Membrane ◽  
Pre Treatment ◽  
Pass Through ◽  
Sea Of Cortez

Commercial seawater reverse osmosis (SWRO) membranes were coated with iron nanoparticles (FeNPs) and biofouled with a bacterium strain isolated from the Sea of Cortez, Mexico. This strain was selected and characterized, as it was the only cultivable strain in pretreated seawater. Molecular identification of the strain showed that it belongs to Bacillus halotolerans MCC1. This strain was Gram positive with spore production, and was susceptible to Fe+2 toxicity with a minimum inhibitory concentration of 1.8 g L−1. Its biofouling potential on both uncoated and FeNP coated reverse osmosis (RO) membranes was measured via biofilm layer thickness, total cell count, optical density and organic matter. The FeNP-coated RO membrane presented a significant reduction in biofilm cake layer thickness (>90%), total cells (>67%), optical density (>42%) and organic matter (>92%) with respect to an uncoated commercial membrane. Thus, Bacillus halotolerans MCC1 shows great potential to biofoul RO membranes as it can pass through ultrafiltration membranes due to its spore producing ability; nonetheless, FeNP-coated membranes represent a potential alternative to mitigate RO membrane biofouling.

Topology Optimization of Spacers for Maximizing Permeate Flux on Membrane Surface in Reverse Osmosis Channel

2011 ◽  
Author(s):  
Seungjae Oh ◽  
Semyung Wang ◽  
Minkyu Park ◽  
Joonha Kim
Keyword(s):  
Topology Optimization ◽  
Pressure Drop ◽  
Reverse Osmosis ◽  
Membrane Surface ◽  
Design Development ◽  
Permeate Flux ◽  
Membrane Channel ◽  
Initial Attempt ◽  
Membrane Surfaces ◽  
Ro Membrane

The objective of this study is to design spacers using fluid topology optimization in 2D crossflow Reverse Osmosis (RO) membrane channel to improve the performance of RO processes. This study is an initial attempt to apply topology optimization to designing spacers in RO membrane channel. The performance was evaluated by the quantity of permeate flux penetrating both upper and lower membrane surfaces. A coupled Navier-Stokes and Convection-Diffusion model was employed to calculate the permeate flux. To get reliable solutions, stabilization methods were employed with standard finite element method. The nine reference models which consist of the combination of circle, rectangular, triangle shape and zigzag, cavity, submerge configuration of spacers were simulated. Such models were compared with new model designed by topology optimization. The permeate flux at both membrane surfaces was determined as an objective function. In addition, permissible pressure drop along the channel and spacer volume were used as constraints. As a result of topology optimization as the permissible pressure drop changes in channel, characteristics of spacer design development was founded. Spacer design based on topology optimization was reconstructed to a simple one considering manufactuability and characteristics of development spacer design. When a simplified design was compared with previous 9 models, new design has a better performance in terms of permeate flux and wall concentration at membrane surface.

scholarly journals Optimization of In Situ Backwashing Frequency for Stable Operation of Anaerobic Ceramic Membrane Bioreactor

Processes ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (5) ◽  
pp. 545 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rathmalgodage Thejani Nilusha ◽  
Tuo Wang ◽  
Hongyan Wang ◽  
Dawei Yu ◽  
Junya Zhang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Membrane Fouling ◽  
Membrane Filtration ◽  
Membrane Bioreactor ◽  
Ceramic Membrane ◽  
Pure Water ◽  
Ex Situ ◽  
Stable Operation ◽  
Chemical Cleaning ◽  
Cake Layer

The cost-effective and stable operation of an anaerobic ceramic membrane bioreactor (AnCMBR) depends on operational strategies to minimize membrane fouling. A novel strategy for backwashing, filtration and relaxation was optimized for stable operation of a side stream tubular AnCMBR treating domestic wastewater at the ambient temperature. Two in situ backwashing schemes (once a day at 60 s/day, and twice a day at 60 s × 2/day) maintaining 55 min filtration and 5 min relaxation as a constant were compared. A flux level over 70% of the initial membrane flux was stabilized by in situ permeate backwashing irrespective of its frequency. The in situ backwashing by permeate once a day was better for energy saving, stable membrane filtration and less permeate consumption. Ex situ chemical cleaning after 60 days’ operation was carried out using pure water, sodium hypochlorite (NaOCl), and citric acid as the order. The dominant cake layer was effectively reduced by in situ backwashing, and the major organic foulants were fulvic acid-like substances and humic acid-like substances. Proteobacteria, Firmucutes, Epsilonbacteria and Bacteroides were the major microbes attached to the ceramic membrane fouling layer which were effectively removed by NaOCl.

scholarly journals Recycling of Reverse Osmosis Concentrates to the Membrane Bioreactor in the MBR-RO Process for Water Reuse: effect on mbr performances

2017 ◽  
Vol 30 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-10 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thi Thu Nga Vu ◽  
Manon Montaner ◽  
Christelle Guigui
Keyword(s):  
Organic Matter ◽  
Reverse Osmosis ◽  
Membrane Fouling ◽  
Water Reuse ◽  
High Performance ◽  
Membrane Bioreactor ◽  
Membrane System ◽  
Size Exclusion ◽  
Ro Concentrate ◽  
The Impact

Wastewater effluents can be treated by an integrated membrane system combining membrane bioreactor (MBR) and reverse osmosis (RO) for effective removal of micropollutants in the field of high-quality water reuse. However, discharging the RO concentrate waste stream directly into the natural environment could lead to serious problems due to the toxic components contained in the concentrates (micropollutants, salts, organic matter). A possible solution could be the recirculation of RO concentrate waste to the MBR. However, such an operation should be studied in detail since the recirculation of non-biodegradable organic matter or high concentrations of salts and micropollutants could directly or indirectly contribute to MBR membrane fouling and modification of the biodegradation activity. In this context, the work reported here focused on the recirculation of such concentrates in an MBR, paying specific attention to MBR membrane fouling. Lab-scale experiments were performed on a continuous MBR-RO treatment line with RO concentrate recirculation. The main goal was to determine the recovery of the RO unit and of the global process that maintained good process performance in terms of biodegradation and MBR fouling. The results demonstrate that the impact of the toxic flow on activated sludge depends on the recovery of the RO step but the same trends were observed regardless of the organic matter and salt contents of the concentrates: the concentration of proteins increased slightly. Size-exclusion high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC-SEC) was employed to study the effects of RO concentrate on the production of protein-like soluble microbial products (SMPs) and demonstrated a significant peak of protein-like substances corresponding to 10-100 kDa and 100-1 000 kDa molecules in the supernatant. Thus a significant increase in the propensity for sludge fouling was observed, which could be attributed to the increased quantity of protein-like substances. Finally, the effect of the concentrate on sludge activity was studied and no significant effect was observed on biodegradation, indicating that the return of the concentrate to the MBR could be a good alternative.

Exerting ultrasound to control the membrane fouling in filtration of anaerobic activated sludge—mechanism and membrane damage

2008 ◽  
Vol 57 (5) ◽  
pp. 773-779 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xianghua Wen ◽  
Pengzhe Sui ◽  
Xia Huang
Keyword(s):  
Activated Sludge ◽  
Hydroxyl Radicals ◽  
Membrane Fouling ◽  
Membrane Bioreactor ◽  
Chemical Interaction ◽  
Membrane Surface ◽  
Membrane Damage ◽  
Operational Conditions ◽  
Fouling Control ◽  
Cake Layer

In this study, ultrasound was applied to control membrane fouling development online in an anaerobic membrane bioreactor (AMBR). Experimental results showed that membrane fouling could be controlled effectively by ultrasound although membrane damage may occur under some operational conditions. Based upon the observation on the damaged membrane surface via SEM, two mechanisms causing membrane damage by exerting ultrasound are inferred as micro particle collide on the membrane surface and chemical interaction between membrane materials and hydroxyl radicals produced by acoustic cavitations. Not only membrane damage but also membrane fouling control and membrane fouling cleaning were resulted from these mechanisms. Properly selecting ultrasonic intensity and working time, and keeping a certain thickness of cake layer on membrane surface could be effective ways to protect membrane against damage.

scholarly journals Silica scale formation and effect of sodium and aluminium ions -29Si NMR study

2016 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 174-185 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. Lunevich ◽  
P. Sanciolo ◽  
A. Smallridge ◽  
S. R. Gray
Keyword(s):  
Reverse Osmosis ◽  
Membrane Surface ◽  
Scale Formation ◽  
Significant Problem ◽  
29Si Nmr ◽  
High Recovery ◽  
Desalination Plant ◽  
Nmr Study ◽  
Silica Scale ◽  
Ro Membrane

Silica scale formation on reverse osmosis (RO) membrane surface is a significant problem for operation of high recovery RO desalination plant.

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