Membrane fouling reduction in a cost-effective integrated system of microbial fuel cell and membrane bioreactor

Microbial fuel cells (MFC) and membrane bioreactors (MBR) are promising technologies for wastewater treatment. However, both of them have some drawbacks and application limitations. A cost-effective hybrid system (EMBR) integrating MFC with MBR was evaluated in terms of treatment performance and membrane fouling. In this paper, two electric field directions with a membrane module in the middle were applied to explore the mechanism of membrane fouling mitigation in EMBRs. In both configurations of EMBRs, microbial activity and degradation ability of activated sludge for chemical oxygen demand and NH4+−N removals could be enhanced compared with those for the controlled MBR. In addition, the irreversible resistance significantly decreased, especially in the EMBR(−) with a longer operation time. Furthermore, two critical factors, namely enhanced bioflocculation and electrophoresis forces, were compared based on key parameters (zeta potential, particle size distribution and extracellular polymeric substances). The electrophoresis forces made a greater contribution to fouling alleviation than that conducted by the enhanced bioflocculation. The results suggested that EMBR, as a promising wastewater treatment technology, improved effluent quality and reduced energy consumption.

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Electrically enhanced MBR system for total nutrient removal in remote northern applications

Water Science & Technology ◽

10.2166/wst.2012.908 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 65 (4) ◽

pp. 737-742 ◽

Cited By ~ 16

Author(s):

V. Wei ◽

M. Elektorowicz ◽

J. A. Oleszkiewicz

Keyword(s):

Wastewater Treatment ◽

Nutrient Removal ◽

Membrane Fouling ◽

Membrane Bioreactor ◽

Extracellular Polymeric Substances ◽

Climatic Conditions ◽

Transmembrane Pressure ◽

Treatment Technology ◽

Electrically Enhanced ◽

P Removal

Thousands of sparsely populated communities scatter in the remote areas of northern Canada. It is economically preferable to adopt the decentralized systems to treat the domestic wastewater because of the vast human inhabitant distribution and cold climatic conditions. Electro-technologies such as electrofiltration, elctrofloatation, electrocoagulation and electrokinetic separation have been applied in water and conventional wastewater treatment for decades due to the minimum requirements of chemicals as well as ease of operation. The membrane bioreactor (MBR) is gaining popularity in recent years as an alternative water/wastewater treatment technology. However, few studies have been conducted to hyphenate these two technologies. The purpose of this work is to design a novel electrically enhanced membrane bioreactor (EMBR) as an alternative decentralized wastewater treatment system with improved nutrient removal and reduced membrane fouling. Two identical submerged membranes (GE ZW-1 hollow fiber module) were used for the experiment, with one as a control. The EMBR and control MBR were operated for 4 months at room temperature (20 ± 2 °C) with synthetic feed and 2 months at 10 °C with real sewage. The following results were observed: (1) the transmembrane pressure (TMP) increased significantly more slowly in the EMBR and the interval between the cleaning cycles of the EMBR increased at least twice; (2) the dissolved chemical oxygen demand (COD) or total organic carbon (TOC) in the EMBR biomass was reduced from 30 to 51%, correspondingly, concentrations of the extracellular polymeric substances (EPS), the major suspicious membrane foulants, decreased by 26–46% in the EMBR; (3) both control and EMBR removed >99% of ammonium-N and >95% of dissolved COD, in addition, ortho-P removal in the EMBR was >90%, compared with 47–61% of ortho-P removal in the MBR; and (4) the advantage of the EMBR over the conventional MBR in terms of membrane fouling retardation and phosphorus removal was further demonstrated at an operating temperature of 10 °C when fed with real sewage. The EMBR system has the potential for highly automated control and minimal maintenance, which is particularly suitable for remote northern applications.

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Performance of SIDMBR for Emulsified Oil Wastewater Treatment

Applied Mechanics and Materials ◽

10.4028/www.scientific.net/amm.448-453.478 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 448-453 ◽

pp. 478-481

Author(s):

Zhi Yong Han ◽

Si Su ◽

Yan Lu ◽

Wang Bing Du

Keyword(s):

Wastewater Treatment ◽

Membrane Fouling ◽

Extracellular Polymeric Substances ◽

Oxygen Demand ◽

Pilot Scale ◽

Ammonia Nitrogen ◽

Dynamic Membrane ◽

Emulsified Oil ◽

Membrane Flux ◽

Oil Wastewater

The Sequencing Inclined Dynamic Membrane Biological Reactor (SIDMBR) was investigated on a pilot scale for 60 days of emulsified oil wastewater treatment at zero excess sludge discharge. Results indicate that at hydraulic retention time of 24 h, the average removals of chemical oxygen demand (COD), ammonia nitrogen and oil are 66.83, 64.2 and 70.8% in 1~60 days, respectively. The membrane flux, biofilm quantity, and extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) content begin to change after 20th, which indicate that membrane fouling has occurred.

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Optimized coupling of a submerged membrane electro-bioreactor with pre-anaerobic reactors containing anode electrodes for wastewater treatment and fouling reduction

Journal of Water Reuse and Desalination ◽

10.2166/wrd.2016.063 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 7 (3) ◽

pp. 353-364

Author(s):

Nader Taghipour ◽

Mohammad Mosaferi ◽

Mohammad Shakerkhatibi ◽

Neemat Jaafarzadeh ◽

Reza Dehghanzadeh ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Wastewater Treatment ◽

Membrane Fouling ◽

Municipal Wastewater ◽

Oxygen Demand ◽

Operational Mode ◽

Municipal Wastewater Treatment ◽

Anaerobic Reactors ◽

Promising Treatment ◽

Fouling Reduction

In this paper, the performance of a submerged membrane electro-bioreactor with pre-anaerobic reactors containing anode electrodes (SMEBR+) was compared with that of a membrane bioreactor (MBR) in municipal wastewater treatment. The new design idea of the SMEBR+ was based on applications of direct current (DC) on the anode and cathode electrodes. The pilot study was divided into 2 stages and operated for 48 days. In Stage I, the MBR was continuously operated for 24 days without the application of electrodes. In Stage II, the SMEBR+ was continuously operated for 24 days, while aluminum electrodes and an intermittent DC were working with an operational mode of 2 min ON/4 min OFF at a constant voltage of 1.4 V. The results indicated that membrane fouling was reduced by nearly 22.02% in the SMEBR+ compared to the MBR. The results also showed that the SMEBR+ increased the quality of effluent to the extent that high removals of NH3+-N, PO43−-P, and chemical oxygen demand (COD) were 98%, 76%, and 90%, respectively. This system, in comparison with those proposed in other studies, showed a suitable improvement in biological treatments, considering the high removal of NH3+-N. Therefore, SMEBR+ can be considered as a promising treatment alternative to the conventional MBR.

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Bioelectricity production from tofu wastewater using microbial fuel cells with microalgae Spirulina sp as catholyte

E3S Web of Conferences ◽

10.1051/e3sconf/202020208007 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 202 ◽

pp. 08007

Author(s):

Wahyu Zuli Pratiwi ◽

Hadiyanto Hadiyanto ◽

Purwanto Purwanto ◽

Muthi’ah Nur Fadlilah

Keyword(s):

Wastewater Treatment ◽

Fuel Cells ◽

Microbial Fuel Cells ◽

Organic Waste ◽

Oxygen Demand ◽

Salt Bridge ◽

Cod Removal ◽

Biofuel Production ◽

Pre Treatment ◽

Made In

Microalgae-Microbial Fuel Cells (MMFCs) are very popular to be used to treat organic waste. MMFCs can function as an energy-producing wastewater pre-treatment system. Wastewater can provide an adequate supply of nutrients, support the large capacity of biofuel production, and can be integrated with existing wastewater treatment infrastructure. The reduced content of Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) is one way to measure the efficiency of wastewater treatment. MMFCs reactors are made in the form of two chambers (anode and cathode) both of which are connected by a salt bridge. Tofu wastewater as an anode and Spirulina sp as a cathode. To improve MFCs performance which is to obtain maximum COD removal and electricity generation, nutrient NaHCO3 as the nutrient carbon source for Spirulina sp was varied. The system running phase on 12 days. The results were Spirulina sp treated with MFCs technology has better growth than non-MFCs. The MMFC generated a maximum power density of 21.728 mW/cm2 and achieved 57.37% COD removal. These results showed that the combined process was effective in treating tofu wastewater.

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Evaluation of bioelectrochemical systems for wastewater treatment and sludge digestion

10.32469/10355/45850 ◽

2014 ◽

Author(s):

◽

Shashikanth Gajaraj

Keyword(s):

Wastewater Treatment ◽

Anaerobic Digestion ◽

Membrane Fouling ◽

Microbial Fuel Cells ◽

Microbial Consortia ◽

Electrolysis Cell ◽

Bioelectrochemical Systems ◽

Wastewater Remediation ◽

Sludge Digestion ◽

Removal Efficiencies

[ACCESS RESTRICTED TO THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI AT AUTHOR'S REQUEST.] Much attention has been drawn by bioelectrochemical systems (BES) in the past years for wastewater treatment, due to its potential for enhanced wastewater treatment and resource recovery with added advantages in terms of energy generation, environmental footprint, operating stability and economics. This dissertation focuses on the potential to improve treatment efficiency of different wastewater components when assisted by BES. Modified Ludzack-Ettinger (MLE) process and membrane bioreactor (MBR) process assisted by microbial fuel cells (MFC) showed improved the nitrate-nitrogen removal efficiencies by upto 31% and 20% respectively, and reduced sludge produced by 11% and 6% respectively over the control reactors. While the unique design of the cathode significantly reduced physical membrane fouling, all other bioreactor performance was unaffected. Microbial electrolysis cell (MEC) assisted Cr[VI] reduction was faster in 60 days as compared to 69 days with MFC assisted systems and 85 days with the control. The total Cr removal efficiencies in the control system and the MFC or MEC-assisted systems were 20%, 55%, and 65%, respectively, demonstrating the ability of BES in assisting wastewater remediation process. Finally, MECs incorporated into anaerobic digestion resulted in increased production of methane of 9.4 % or 8.5% with both glucose and activated sludge respectively as the substrate. The integration of MEC had no impact on acetoclastic methanogens involved in anaerobic digestion, but significantly increased the populations of hydrogenotrophic methanogens, especially Methanobacteriales. In conclusion, the integration of BES with conventional wastewater treatment and sludge digestion process enhanced the removal of organic matter, nitrate and toxic metals while supporting healthy microbial consortia.

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Membrane fouling and performance evaluation of conventional membrane bioreactor (MBR), moving biofilm MBR and oxic/anoxic MBR

Water Science & Technology ◽

10.2166/wst.2014.007 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 69 (7) ◽

pp. 1403-1409 ◽

Cited By ~ 10

Author(s):

Sher Jamal Khan ◽

Aman Ahmad ◽

Muhammad Saqib Nawaz ◽

Nicholas P. Hankins

Keyword(s):

Membrane Fouling ◽

Extracellular Polymeric Substances ◽

Water Flux ◽

Oxygen Demand ◽

Domestic Wastewater ◽

Membrane Bioreactors ◽

Nitrogen And Phosphorus ◽

Biofilm Carrier ◽

Cake Layer ◽

And Performance

In this study, three laboratory scale submerged membrane bioreactors (MBRs) comprising a conventional MBR (C-MBR), moving bed MBR (MB-MBR) and anoxic-oxic MBR (A/O-MBR) were continuously operated with synthesized domestic wastewater (chemical oxygen demand, COD = 500 mg/L) for 150 days under similar operational and environmental conditions. Kaldnes® plastic media with 20% dry volume was used as a biofilm carrier in the MB-MBR and A/O-MBR. The treatment performance and fouling propensity of the MBRs were evaluated. The effect of cake layer formation in all three MBRs was almost the same. However, pore blocking caused a major difference in the resultant water flux. The A/O-MBR showed the highest total nitrogen and phosphorus (PO4-P) removal efficiencies of 83.2 and 69.7%, respectively. Due to the high removal of nitrogen, fewer protein contents were found in the soluble and bound extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) of the A/O-MBR. Fouling trends of the MBRs showed 12, 14 and 20 days filtration cycles for C-MBR, MB-MBR and A/O-MBR, respectively. A 25% reduction of the soluble EPS and a 37% reduction of the bound EPS concentrations in A/O-MBR compared with C-MBR was a major contributing factor for fouling retardation and the enhanced filtration capacity of the A/O-MBR.

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Microbial fuel cells for wastewater treatment

Water Science & Technology ◽

10.2166/wst.2006.702 ◽

2006 ◽

Vol 54 (8) ◽

pp. 9-15 ◽

Cited By ~ 140

Author(s):

P. Aelterman ◽

K. Rabaey ◽

P. Clauwaert ◽

W. Verstraete

Keyword(s):

Wastewater Treatment ◽

Fuel Cells ◽

Potential Energy ◽

Microbial Fuel Cells ◽

Energy Recovery ◽

Oxygen Demand ◽

Wastewater Effluent ◽

Hospital Wastewater ◽

Potato Processing ◽

Conversion Efficiencies

Microbial fuel cells (MFCs) are emerging as promising technology for the treatment of wastewaters. The potential energy conversion efficiencies are examined. The rates of energy recovery (W/m3 reactor) are reviewed and evaluated. Some recent data relating to potato-processing wastewaters and a hospital wastewater effluent are reported. Finally, a set of process configurations in which MFCs could be useful to treat wastewaters is schematized. Overall, the MFC technology still faces major challenges, particularly in terms of chemical oxygen demand (COD) removal efficiency.

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Operating a two-stage microbial fuel cell–constructed wetland for fuller wastewater treatment and more efficient electricity generation

Water Science & Technology ◽

10.2166/wst.2015.212 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 72 (3) ◽

pp. 421-428 ◽

Cited By ~ 8

Author(s):

Liam Doherty ◽

Yaqian Zhao

Keyword(s):

Wastewater Treatment ◽

Microbial Fuel Cells ◽

Oxygen Demand ◽

Power Production ◽

Two Stage ◽

Ohmic Resistance ◽

Electrode Separation ◽

Sludge Cake ◽

Stage System ◽

Reactive Phosphorus

By integrating microbial fuel cells (MFCs) into constructed wetlands (CWs) the need and cost of building a reactor are eliminated, while CWs provide the simultaneous redox conditions required for optimum MFC performance. Two single-stage MFC-CWs, with dewatered alum sludge cake as the main wetland medium for enhanced phosphorus removal, were operated to determine the effects of electrode separation and flow regimes on power production and wastewater treatment. When the anode is buried and the cathode is at the air–water interface the system is inhibited by a large ohmic resistance resulting from the increased electrode separation. By placing the cathode directly above the anode and operating the system with simultaneous upflow into the anode and downflow into the cathode the ohmic resistance is reduced. The chemical oxygen demand (COD) removal efficiency was, however, reduced to 64% (compared with 79%). A two-stage system was subsequently run for fuller wastewater treatment and increased power production. The results indicate that a two-stage MFC-CW can increase the normalized energy recovery and improve removal efficiencies of COD, total nitrogen, NH4+, total phosphorus and reactive phosphorus to 93 ± 1.7%, 85 ± 5.2%, 90 ± 5.4%, 98 ± 5.3% and 99 ± 2.9%, respectively.

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Effect of vibration on the efficiency of ultrafiltration

Analecta Technica Szegedinensia ◽

10.14232/analecta.2021.1.37-44 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 15 (1) ◽

pp. 37-44

Author(s):

Szabolcs Gyula Szerencsés ◽

Sándor Beszédes ◽

Zsuzsanna László ◽

Gábor Veréb ◽

Balázs Szegedi ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Wastewater Treatment ◽

Membrane Fouling ◽

Energy Demand ◽

Membrane Filtration ◽

The European Union ◽

Treatment Technology ◽

Filtration Resistance ◽

Filtration System ◽

Total Filtration ◽

Sustainable Wastewater Treatment

Nowadays, several environmental challenges are present to cope with. One with outstanding importance is the protection of our water supplies, therefore examination of wastewater treatment technology is a priority, especially in the European Union. In this work, the effect of membrane module vibration amplitude on the efficiency of ultrafiltration (UF) was investigated in a vibratory shear enhanced membrane filtration system. Based on the results of model dairy effluent UF and statistical analysis, the maximum vibration level available resulted in the most efficient filtration process, due to the most significant reduction of membrane fouling. From our results it was observed that the permeate fluxes more than doubled, specific energy demand was roughly halved, with almost identical retentions for organic matter, and total filtration resistance was reduced to less than half. Results also showed that setting the optimal operating parameters, an advantageous, efficiency focused, and sustainable wastewater treatment technology can be established.

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Absorptive process and biological activity of Ulva prolifera and algal bioremediation of coking effluent

BioResources ◽

10.15376/biores.15.2.2605-2620 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 15 (2) ◽

pp. 2605-2620

Author(s):

Wenhui Gu ◽

Guangce Wang

Keyword(s):

Wastewater Treatment ◽

Quantum Yield ◽

Algal Growth ◽

Oxygen Demand ◽

Cost Effective ◽

Complete Recovery ◽

Ulva Prolifera ◽

Effective Quantum Yield ◽

Cost Effective Technique ◽

Concentrate Treatment

The concentrates of coking effluents are toxic and technically challenging to treat. Environmental protection demands an efficient and cost-effective technique for coking wastewater treatment. The intertidal marine macro alga Ulva prolifera has a high tolerance to various environmental stresses. In this study, U. prolifera was collected from an intertidal field and tested in a laboratory-scale photobioreactor for potential bioremediation of coking effluent concentrate. Algal physiology and water quality were measured. During treatment, the quantum yield Fv/Fm and effective quantum yield Y(II) values showed 12% and 15% decreases in 24 h, respectively, and a complete recovery in 168 h. The algal physiological characteristics indicated that light irradiance provided in a sine pattern of enhanced algal growth by 53% in the coking concentrate. The removal efficiency for total nitrogen and total phosphorus was up to 26.1% and 68.5% in 24 h, respectively. It also showed high removal efficiencies for some heavy metals, chemical oxygen demand, biological oxygen demand, and nutrients within 24 h. The feasibility of using U. prolifera for coking concentrate treatment was also considered. This study provided a possible bioremediation technique for wastewater treatment, especially for concentrates of coking effluent, in the coking industry.

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