Integrated approach to characterize fouling on a flat sheet membrane gravity driven submerged membrane bioreactor

Luca Fortunato, Sanghyun Jeong, Yiran Wang, Ali Reza Behzad, TorOve Leiknes

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57 Scopus citations

Abstract

Fouling in membrane bioreactors (MBR) is acknowledged to be complex and unclear. An integrated characterization methodology was employed in this study to understand the fouling on a gravity-driven submerged MBR (GD-SMBR). It involved the use of different analytical tools, including optical coherence tomography (OCT), liquid chromatography with organic carbon detection (LC-OCD), total organic carbon (TOC), flow cytometer (FCM), adenosine triphosphate analysis (ATP) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The three-dimensional (3D) biomass morphology was acquired in a real-time through non-destructive and in situ OCT scanning of 75% of the total membrane surface directly in the tank. Results showed that the biomass layer was homogeneously distributed on the membrane surface. The amount of biomass was selectively linked with final destructive autopsy techniques. The LC-OCD analysis indicated the abundance of low molecular weight (LMW) organics in the fouling composition. Three different SEM techniques were applied to investigate the detailed fouling morphology on the membrane. © 2016 Elsevier Ltd
Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)335-343
Number of pages9
JournalBioresource Technology
Volume222
DOIs
StatePublished - Oct 7 2016

Bibliographical note

KAUST Repository Item: Exported on 2020-10-01
Acknowledgements: This study was supported by funding from King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST).

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