State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resources Reuse, School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tongji University, Shanghai, 200092, PR China.
State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resources Reuse, School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tongji University, Shanghai, 200092, PR China; State Key Laboratory of Separation Membranes and Membrane Processes, Tianjin Polytechnic University, Tianjin 300387, PR China.
Water Res. 2017 Sep 1;120:256-264. doi: 10.1016/j.watres.2017.05.012. Epub 2017 May 8.
Biofouling remains as a critical issue limiting the widespread applications of membrane bioreactors (MBRs). The use of antibiofouling membranes is an emerging method to tackle this issue. In this study, a polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) membrane was modified using a quaternary ammonium compound (QAC) to create an antibiofouling membrane. The membrane was used in an MBR and the performance, mechanisms, and effects on microbial communities of this membrane were compared to a control operated in parallel. Results showed that the membrane exhibited a significantly reduced transmembrane pressure increase rate of 0.29 kPa/d compared with 0.91 kPa/d of the control. Analysis using a confocal laser scanning microscope (CLSM) revealed almost complete lack of living microbes on the antibiofouling membrane in contrast to the control. However, specific oxygen uptake rate and dehydrogenase activity analyses demonstrated no adverse impacts on microbial viability of the bulk activated sludge. Bacterial population analysis using the Illumina Miseq platform added further evidence that the use of antibiofouling membrane did not exert negative influences on richness, diversity and structure of the bacterial community. Effluent quality of the test MBR also exhibited minimal difference from that of the control reactor. The amount of polysaccharides and proteins in the biofouling layer was also significantly reduced. Quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation monitoring suggested that the antibiofouling membrane only allowed organic matter with strong adhesion properties to attach onto the membrane surfaces. These findings highlight the potential of the antibiofouling membrane to be used in MBRs for wastewater treatment and reclamation.
生物污损仍然是限制膜生物反应器 (MBR) 广泛应用的一个关键问题。使用抗生物污损膜是解决这个问题的一种新兴方法。在这项研究中，使用季铵盐化合物 (QAC) 对聚偏二氟乙烯 (PVDF) 膜进行改性，以制备抗生物污损膜。该膜在 MBR 中使用，并将其性能、机制以及对微生物群落的影响与平行运行的对照进行了比较。结果表明，与对照相比，膜的跨膜压力增加率显著降低，从 0.91kPa/d 降低至 0.29kPa/d。使用共聚焦激光扫描显微镜 (CLSM) 的分析表明，与对照相比，抗生物污损膜上几乎完全没有活的微生物。然而，特定的需氧速率和脱氢酶活性分析表明，对活性污泥的微生物活力没有不利影响。使用 Illumina Miseq 平台进行的细菌种群分析进一步证明，使用抗生物污损膜不会对细菌群落的丰富度、多样性和结构产生负面影响。试验 MBR 的出水质量也与对照反应器几乎没有差异。生物污损层中的多糖和蛋白质的量也显著减少。石英晶体微天平与耗散监测表明，抗生物污损膜只允许具有强附着性能的有机物附着在膜表面上。这些发现突出了抗生物污损膜在废水处理和再利用的 MBR 中的应用潜力。
