Kim Sang Yeob, Curko Josip, Matosic Marin, Herrera Aridai, Lopez-Vazquez Carlos M, Brdjanovic Damir, Garcia Hector A
Department of Water Supply, Sanitation and Environmental Engineering, IHE Delft Institute for Water Education, Westvest 7, 2611AX, Delft, the Netherlands; Department of Biotechnology, Delft University of Technology, Van der Maasweg 9, 2629, HZ, Delft, the Netherlands; Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Sejong University, 209 Neungdong-ro, Gwangjin-gu, Seoul, 05006, Republic of Korea.
Faculty of Food Technology and Biotechnology, University of Zagreb, Pierottijeva 6, 10000, Zagreb, Croatia.
Environ Res. 2023 Nov 15;237(Pt 1):116914. doi: 10.1016/j.envres.2023.116914. Epub 2023 Aug 18.
To investigate the influence of high-pressure and shear effects introduced by a concentrated oxygen supply system on the membrane filtration performance, a laboratory-scale membrane bioreactor (MBR) fed artificial municipal wastewater was operated continuously for 80 days in four phases equipped with different aerations systems: (P1) bubble diffusers (days 0-40), (P2) concentrated oxygen supply system, the supersaturated dissolved oxygen (SDOX) (days 41-56), (P3) bubble diffusers (days 57-74), and (P4) SDOX (days 75-80). Various sludge physical-chemical parameters, visual inspection of the membrane, and permeability evaluations were performed. Results showed that the high-pressure effects contributed to fouling of the membranes compared to the bubble diffuser aeration system. Biofouling by microorganisms appeared to be the main contributor to the cake layer when bubble diffusers were used, while fouling by organic matter seemed to be the main contributor to the cake layer when SDOX was used. Small particle size distribution (PSD) (ranging from 1 to 10 and 1-50 μm in size) fractions are a main parameter affecting the intense fouling of membranes (e.g., formation of a dense and thin cake layer). However, PSD alone cannot explain the worsened membrane fouling tendency. Therefore, it can be assumed that a combination of several factors (which certainly includes PSD) led to the severe membrane fouling caused by the high-pressure and shear.
