Abstract
Cake layer formation is an inevitable challenge in membrane bioreactor (MBR) operation. The investigations on the cake layer microbial community are essential to control biofouling. This work studied the bacterial and archaeal communities in the cake layer, the anaerobic sludge, and the membrane cleaning solutions of anaerobic membrane bioreactor (AnMBR) with yttria-based ceramic tubular membrane by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification of 16S rRNA genes. The cake layer resistance was 69% of the total membrane resistance. Proteins and soluble microbial by-products (SMPs) were the dominant foulants in the cake layer. The pioneering archaeal and bacteria in the cake layer were mostly similar to those in the anaerobic bulk sludge. The dominant biofouling bacteria were Proteobacteria, Bacteroidetes, Firmicutes, and Chloroflexi and the dominant archaeal were Methanosaetacea and Methanobacteriacea at family level. This finding may help to develop antifouling membranes for AnMBR treating domestic wastewater.
Highlights
IntroductionMembrane bioreactor (MBR) technology is a promising technology for wastewater treatment and reuse [1]
Received: 23 December 2020Membrane bioreactor (MBR) technology is a promising technology for wastewater treatment and reuse [1]
Cake layer has played a pivotal role in membrane fouling of yttria-based ceramic tubular membrane representing over 60% of the total membrane resistance
Summary
Membrane bioreactor (MBR) technology is a promising technology for wastewater treatment and reuse [1]. Membranes can be coupled with either aerobic or anaerobic biological treatment processes. Anaerobic membrane bioreactors (AnMBR) provide more benefits compared to aerobic MBR. The costs of aeration and sludge handling in anaerobic treatment are considerably lesser than aerobic MBR [2]. Due to these unique benefits, AnMBR is attracting growing interest in both research and practical applications [3]. Ceramic membrane applications in MBR are achieving rapid progress attributed to their advantageous properties over widely applied polymeric membranes [4,5]
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