Abstract
Cationic polymers have proven to be suitable flux enhancers (FEs) in large-scale aerobic membrane bioreactors (MBRs), whereas in anaerobic membrane bioreactors (AnMBRs) research is scarce, and so far, only done at lab-scale. Results from MBRs cannot be directly translated to AnMBRs because the extent and nature of membrane fouling under anaerobic and aerobic conditions are different. Our research focused on the long-term effect of dosing the cationic polymer Adifloc KD451 to a pilot AnMBR, fed with source-separated domestic blackwater. A single dosage of Adifloc KD451 at 50 mg L−1 significantly enhanced the filtration performance in the AnMBR, revealed by a decrease in both fouling rate and total filtration resistance. Nevertheless, FE addition had an immediate negative effect on the specific methanogenic activity (SMA), but this was a reversible process that had no adverse effect on permeate quality or chemical oxygen demand (COD) removal in the AnMBR. Moreover, the FE had a long-term positive effect on AnMBR filtration performance and sludge filterability. These findings indicate that dosing Adifloc KD451 is a suitable strategy for fouling mitigation in AnMBRs because it led to a long-term improvement in filtration performance, while having no significant adverse effects on permeate quality or COD removal.
Highlights
The anaerobic membrane bioreactor (AnMBR) is regarded as a technology of interest for wastewater treatment, allowing the production of reclaimed water at a reduced level of energy consumption while recovering resources
200 persons worked in the building, the number and specific persons that attended the office varied throughout the week due to the co-working spaces and new companies being installed
The results clearly show that flux enhancers (FEs) addition had no adverse effect on chemical oxygen demand (COD) removal in the AnMBR, as presented in Section 3.1, which is in accordance with previous research performed with MPE50 [14,21]
Summary
The anaerobic membrane bioreactor (AnMBR) is regarded as a technology of interest for wastewater treatment, allowing the production of reclaimed water at a reduced level of energy consumption while recovering resources. AnMBR couples the advantages of anaerobic digestion, such as low sludge production, no aeration requirement and biogas production, with the benefits of membrane technology, that is, complete solids removal and a high degree of removal of pathogenic organisms [1]. Fouling remains the major operational challenge in AnMBRs, because it is responsible for lower transmembrane flux (J) and higher transmembrane pressure (TMP), and the need for intensive biogas sparging, an increased frequency of membrane cleaning and membrane replacement [2], and increasing energy and operational costs. The literature has shown that fouling is sensitive to sludge characteristics, membrane operation and membrane properties [3,4,5,6].
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