Department of Municipal Engineering, School of Civil Engineering, Hefei University of Technology, Hefei, 230009, China.
Anhui Provincial Engineering Laboratory for Rural Water Environment and Resources, Hefei, 230009, China.
Environ Sci Pollut Res Int. 2020 Aug;27(23):29433-29440. doi: 10.1007/s11356-020-09213-1. Epub 2020 May 21.
Membrane fouling is still the main obstacle that hinders the development and implementation of anaerobic membrane bioreactor (AnMBR). In conventional upflow anaerobic reactors, sludge at different height usually presents certain differences in characteristics in terms of particle size, etc. The immersion depth of membrane modules in anaerobic reactors can also influence the fouling of membrane. Thus, it is of great interest to investigate the fouling mechanism with the membrane installed at different heights in reactors. The filtration performance and sludge properties were investigated at different heights of AnMBR. The fouling of membrane in the middle position was severer than that in the top and bottom positions. The total resistance of membrane in the top, middle, and bottom positions was 27.31 × 10 m, 34.67 × 10 m, and 25.29 × 10 m, respectively. By comparing the characteristics and structure of bulk sludge and cake layer at three heights, the bulk sludge in the middle position presented higher content of soluble microbial products (SMP) and finer flocs, and the cake layer was also denser. The results obtained in this study indicated that small size of sludge flocs as well as adhesion of SMP might be the major factors governing membrane fouling at different height in the AnMBR.
膜污染仍然是阻碍厌氧膜生物反应器（AnMBR）发展和应用的主要障碍。在传统的上流式厌氧反应器中，不同高度的污泥在粒径等特性方面通常存在一定差异。膜组件在厌氧反应器中的浸入深度也会影响膜的污染。因此，研究在不同高度安装膜的反应器中膜污染的机理具有重要意义。本研究考察了 AnMBR 不同高度的过滤性能和污泥特性。膜在中间位置的污染比在顶部和底部位置的污染严重。顶部、中部和底部位置的膜总阻力分别为 27.31×10−10 m、34.67×10−10 m 和 25.29×10−10 m。通过比较三个高度的主体污泥和滤饼层的特性和结构，中间位置的主体污泥中含有更多的可溶性微生物产物（SMP）和更细的絮体，滤饼层也更致密。本研究结果表明，污泥絮体的小尺寸以及 SMP 的黏附可能是 AnMBR 不同高度膜污染的主要因素。
