Performance Of Membrane Bioreactor Research Articles

Comprehensive performance of a new-type hybrid membrane bioreactor applied to mainstream anammox process.

The new-type submerged granular sludge membrane bioreactor (S-GSMBR) was constructed by installing a membrane module inside an upflow anaerobic sludge blanket. S-GSMBR achieved the fast start-up (47d) and long-term stable operation (133d) of mainstream Anammox process as well as the effective control of membrane fouling. The maximum nitrogen removal rate and efficiency were 0.52kgN m-3 d-1 and 88.32%. The flow field analysis indicated that the turbulent effects were found around the membrane module and benefited for alleviating the membrane fouling at the special axial flow velocity at the central section of the membrane module (4.89×10-7ms-1 to 1.30×10-6ms-1). On day 133, S-GSMBR achieved sludge granulation with 68.63% of particles larger than 200μm. Meanwhile, Candidatus Brocadia and Candidatus Kuenenia were typical Anammox bacteria in mature Anammox granular sludge. The relative abundance of Candidatus Brocadia and Candidatus Kuenenia was 21.22% and 0.36%, indicating that Candidatus Brocadia occupied the main niche under mainstream Anammox conditions. The feasibility of application of S-GSMBR in mainstream Anammox process was confirmed and moreover S-GSMBR was proven to be a robust mainstream Anammox reactor. This study lays the important theoretical foundation and technical support for the engineering application of the mainstream Anammox process.

An electrochemical anaerobic dynamic membrane bioreactor for sludge digestion: Enhanced performance, microbial communities and interfacial thermodynamics

The formation and fouling control of dynamic membrane (DM) are critical to the performance of anaerobic dynamic membrane bioreactors (AnDMBRs), especially in conditions with high solids concentrations. This study introduced an electro-AnDMBR (EC) for sludge anaerobic digestion over a 120-day period, comparing its performance to a control AnDMBR (CK) without external voltage. The EC system applied a voltage of 0.5 V, resulting in improved filtration performance and enhanced digestion efficiency, with sludge concentrations exceeding 50 g/L. The DM layer in the EC system, influenced by the electric field, was observed to be thinner, more porous, and composed of fewer polysaccharides, proteins, and cells. Calculation based on the extended Derjaguin-Landau-Verwey-Overbeek theory revealed that the alleviated DM fouling in the EC system was due to a 27.9% increase in the energy barrier for sludge-membrane adhesion, facilitated by the electric field’s interaction with modified sludge properties. In addition, the EC system exhibited stronger Lewis acid-base interactions within the sludge flocs, indicative of enhanced hydrogen-bonding interactions and improved electron transfer efficiency. The sludge in the EC system showed a 1.23-fold increase in conductivity and a 2.25-fold increase in capacitance compared to the CK system, along with increased electroactivity of extracellular polymeric substances (EPS), promoting extracellular electron transfer within the microbial communities. Moreover, the application of an electrical field significantly altered the microbial community structure, fostering a more interconnected microbial network and promoting multiple methanogenic pathways, which contributed to the overall enhanced performance of the EC system.

Performance of a novel annular electric field membrane bioreactor and its membrane fouling control in treating catering wastewater

This study aimed to investigate the effects of different voltage and aeration conditions on catering wastewater treatment and membrane fouling in a novel annular electric field membrane bioreactor (AEMBR). The results indicated that the synergistic effect of annular electric field and aeration promoted the degradation of wastewater and the alleviation of membrane fouling. The treatment effect was optimal under a micro electric field of 0.5 V, with removal rates for COD, NH4+-N, TP, and oil ranging from 96.85% to 99.36%, 80.43%–83.01%, 95.46%–97.79%, and 98.83%–99.15%, respectively. Additionally, the fluorescence intensity of macromolecular proteins and small molecular acids decreased. Simultaneously, the average growth rate of transmembrane pressure (TMP) reduced by approximately 0.4 kPa/d. The species abundance and diversity of activated sludge increased, promoting the growth of dominant bacteria, all while maintaining low energy consumption. The aeration intensity had relatively little impact on system operation, and the force of the annular electric field was greater than the force of aeration. This study verified the optimal benefits under micro electric field conditions and provided a basis for the optimization of future process design to achieve a more efficient and economical wastewater treatment system.

Exploring the impacts of steroid estrogens load and aeration intensity on the performance, membrane fouling characteristics, and bacterial community structure of the anoxic-oxic membrane bioreactor

Steroid estrogens (SEs) are typical endocrine-disrupting compounds, and they are inadequately eliminated in most wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs), contributing significantly to their environmental prevalence. In an effort to optimize the performance of membrane bioreactor (MBR) in mitigating SEs alike micropollutants, this study investigated the influences of influent loads of three typical SEs (estrone (E1), 17β-estradiol (E2), and 17α-ethynyestradiol (EE2)) and the aeration intensity on the pollutants removal performance, membrane fouling characteristics, and bacterial community structure in a lab-scale anoxic/oxic-MBR (A/O-MBR) process. The presence of SEs shed minimal impacts on the performance of A/O-MBR process as indicated by conventional water quality parameters due to gradual microbial acclimation. However, the presence and the rising input of SEs accelerated membrane fouling as a result of the enhanced EPS excretion and PN/PS ratio and the reduced floc size. The moderate aeration intensity was preferred from the perspectives of conventional pollutants removal, SEs biodegradation, biomass accumulation, and membrane fouling mitigation. Evolution of bacterial community structure and predominant genera were identified at different SEs loads and aeration intensities, with Candidatus Competibacter and Ferruginibacter detected as the predominant genera at different SEs input loads and Thiothrix, Azospira, and Saprospiraceae_norank at different aeration intensities with identical SEs input. The results demonstrated the potential of A/O-MBR as a promising barrier against SEs alike micropollutants through the regulation and control of aeration intensity.

Effect of powder activated carbon (PAC) addition on the performance of anaerobic dynamic membrane bioreactor (AnDMBR): Stratification analysis of dynamic membrane characteristics

Powdered activated carbon (PAC), proved to be an effective performance enhancer in membrane bioreactor studies, has yet been applied in anaerobic dynamic membrane bioreactors (AnDMBRs). A better understanding of dynamic membrane (DM) characteristics is important for optimizing AnDMBR performance. In this study, three AnDMBRs were operated for synthetic municipal wastewater treatment with PAC dosages of 0, 1, and 3 g/L. Particular efforts were devoted to understanding the DM characteristics in layers. It was found that PAC addition increased COD removal efficiency (10 %) and decreased DM filtration resistance (60 %). The extent of performance enhancement, particularly the decrease of DM filtration resistance, appears to be much more substantial in AnDMBR than aerobic DMBR. PAC addition significantly reduced the fouling potential of suspended sludge and consequently the filtration resistance of DM. Compared with inner DM layer, the outer DM layer exhibited relatively higher fouling characteristics, such as less porous structure, higher EPS content (mainly proteins), hydrophobicity, and relative abundance of biofouling-related bacteria. The positive effect of PAC addition on reducing DM fouling characteristics turned out to be more significant for outer DM layer, mainly because of its higher PAC content associated with the higher amount of small particles.

Influence of Organic Loading Rates on the Treatment Performance of Membrane Bioreactors Treating Saline Industrial Wastewater

This study investigated the efficacy of membrane bioreactor (MBR) technology in treating saline industrial wastewater, focusing on the impact of the organic loading rate (OLR) and the food-to-microorganism (F/M) ratio on treatment performance. This research utilized saline industrial wastewater from Al-Hasa, which had salinity levels ranging from 5000 to 6900 mg/L. It explored treatment processes at varying Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) concentrations of 800, 1400, and 2000 mg/L, corresponding to an OLR of 0.80 ± 0.05, 1.41 ± 0.07, and 1.98 ± 0.12 g COD/L, respectively. The average F/M ratios used were 0.20, 0.36, and 0.50 g COD/g MLSS·d, maintaining a constant Sludge Residence Time (SRT) of 12 days, a hydraulic retention time (HRT) of 24 h (hrs.), and a flux of 10 L/m2·h. The MBR system demonstrated high COD removal efficiencies, averaging 95.7 ± 1.6%, 95.5 ± 0.4%, and 96.1 ± 0.3%, alongside Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD) removal rates of 98.3 ± 0.2%, 99.8 ± 0.1%, and 98.5 ± 0.1%, respectively. However, an increased OLR led to elevated residual COD and BOD levels in the treated effluent, with COD concentrations reaching 34.2 ± 12.8, 63.3 ± 5.9, and 76.5 ± 5.4 mg/L, respectively. This study also reveals a significant decline in ammonia and Total Kjeldahl Nitrogen (TKN) removal efficiencies as OLR increases, dropping from 96.1 ± 0.5% to 80.2 ± 0.9% for ammonia and from 83.8 ± 3.4% to 65.8 ± 2.3% for TKN. Furthermore, higher OLRs significantly contribute to membrane fouling and elevate the transmembrane pressure (TMP), indicating a direct correlation between OLRs and operational challenges in MBR systems. The findings suggest that for optimal performance within the Saudi disposal limits for industrial wastewater, the MBR system should operate at an F/M ratio of ≤0.33 g COD/g of Mixed Liquor Suspended Solid (MLSS)·d. This study underscores the critical role of the OLR and F/M ratio in treating saline industrial wastewater using MBR technology, providing valuable insights for enhancing treatment efficiency and compliance with environmental standards.

Research on the application of heterotrophic nitrification-aerobic denitrification bacteria in membrane bioreactor (MBR).

Inoculating heterotrophic nitrification-aerobic denitrification bacteria (HN-AD) to enhance membrane bioreactor (MBR) efficiency may result in the loss of functional bacteria. Therefore, this study compares the application results of enhancing MBR with a self-designed biological amplifier coupled with HN-AD against the performance of conventional MBR. After enhancement, the MBR achieved a removal efficiency of 96.7% for NH4+-N (100mg/L) and 96.4% for COD (400mg/L) in synthetic wastewater. There was a 33% increase in TN (100mg/L) removal efficiency. The dominant bacteria in the MBR were Alcaligenes (48.4%) and Thauera (15.2%). Additionally, the abundance of denitrification genes (nirK, norB, nosZ) increased in the enhanced MBR, contributing to improved TN removal efficiency. The use of a biological amplifier effectively solved the problem of HN-AD loss in sewage treatment.

Mitigation of Membrane Fouling in Membrane Bioreactors Using Granular and Powdered Activated Carbon: An Experimental Study

This experimental study explores the mitigation of membrane fouling in membrane bioreactors (MBRs) through the combined use of granular activated carbon (GAC) and powdered activated carbon (PAC). The research assesses the impact of these materials on the fouling resistance, critical flux, and permeate quality using various mixed liquor suspended solids concentrations and carbon dosages. The results indicate that the GAC-PAC combination significantly reduces the total filtration resistance, particularly the cake layer resistance, by 11.7% to 13.6% compared to setups without activated carbon or with the individual carbon types. The study also reveals that this combination decreased the fouling rate by 15% to 24% at critical flux steps, demonstrating substantial improvements in fouling mitigation and operational efficiency. Furthermore, the GAC-PAC combination, which produces an adsorption process, enhances the permeate quality, achieving the near-complete removal of organic matter, total nitrogen, and turbidity, with total phosphorus removal reaching 99%. These findings demonstrate that the combined use of GAC and PAC not only reduces membrane fouling but also improves the overall MBR performance, making it a viable strategy for enhancing the efficiency of wastewater treatment processes.

Linking feed, biodiversity, and filtration performance in a Self-Forming Dynamic Membrane BioReactor (SFD MBR) treating canning wastewater

A bench-scale self-forming dynamic membrane bioreactor (SFD MBR) treating canning wastewater showed instable filtration performance, with a worsening in correspondence of a change in the influent quality. To unveil the possible reasons for such behaviour, a microbial investigation was carried out to complement conventional filterability and settleability tests. The microbial communities of the influent wastewater, the activated sludge, and the filtering sludge cake (dynamic membrane) were characterised through metagenomic and differential abundance analyses. In parallel, the production of exopolymers was measured. The outputs indicate that under the tested conditions the canning wastewater promoted the development of a very peculiar microbial ecosystem, with a strong selection of the genus Thiothrix (relative abundance above 90 %). The Shannon index values in activated sludge were below 2, indicating a very low bacterial diversity. This may have limited the ecosystem resilience towards changes of external conditions, causing instability in the process of the dynamic membrane formation. Furthermore, the diversity analysis showed that the bacterial compositions of the feed and the sludge resulted not significantly linked to each other, confirming the main role of the chemical composition of the influent wastewater on overall process performances. When treating agro-industrial streams, in-depth feed characterisation is recommended in order to prevent the factors that may generate instability in SFD MBR performance.

Mitigation of fouling in membrane bioreactor using the integration of electrical field and nano chitosan adsorbent

The application of membrane bioreactors (MBRs) has emerged as an impressive solution to water scarcity. One of the main obstacles for MBR application is membrane fouling. This work studied the effect of the novel simultaneous application of electric field and positively-charged nano chitosan on membrane fouling. Four MBRs of 1 (control bioreactor), 2 (control bioreactor + electric filed), 3 (control bioreactor + nano chitosan) and 4 (control bioreactor + electric filed + nano chitosan) were evaluated. The results indicated that the concurrent use of voltage and nano chitosan better reduced the membrane fouling, decreased flux decline, and enhanced recovery ratios and membrane bioreactor performance index by nearly 43 % and 84 %, respectively. Meanwhile, the contents of soluble microbial products (SMP) and extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) were reduced from MBR1 to MBR4, respectively. Reduced zeta potential and increased particle sizes led to the change in the cake layer and fouling mitigation from MBR1 to MBR4, as observed through scanning electron microscope (SEM) images. Excitation-emission matrix (EEM) analysis showed that humic acid was adsorbed by both electro-coagulants and nano adsorbents, resulting in a substantial (approximately 97 %) reduction in membrane pore fouling for MBR4. The combination of electrocoagulation, electro-oxidation, and electrophoresis processes, along with adsorption by positively charged nano chitosan, effectively mitigated membrane fouling. The cathode induced a negative charge on sludge particles, subsequently facilitating their adsorption by the positively charged nano chitosan adsorbents. The results demonstrated that combining electric field and nano chitosan effectively suppresses membrane fouling, with relevance for forthcoming technological advancements.

Enhanced Performance of Membrane Bioreactor in Sewage Treatment through Integrated Control Strategy

<p>Wastewater includes sewage water, which presents serious environmental problems that necessitate effective treatment techniques. Membrane Bioreactors (MBRs) have emerged as promising solutions, albeit plagued by membrane fouling and computational loading issues. To resolve these issues, this research article presents an innovative control strategy combining both artificial bee colony optimization (ABC) and recurrent neural network (RNN) to regulate the performance of MBR in sewage treatment. Initially, the influent wastewater data was collected and pre-processed using the regression imputation approach. RNN architecture was designed and trained using the pre-processed data to forecast the performance of the MBN system. Further, the ABC algorithm was applied to optimize the function of MBR by adjusting the control variables. The developed model was validated with the publically available wastewater treatment plan dataset and the effectiveness of the developed model was validated by performing intensive performance and comparative assessment. The performance evaluation demonstrates that the proposed methodology attained greater results of 98.59% effluent quality, 98.70% of nutrient removal efficiency, less computational time of 2.87s, and a low membrane fouling index of 1.23%. The comparative analysis illustrates that the presented approach achieved improved performances than the existing methodologies.</p>

Impact of feeding regimes on the performance of anaerobic sequencing batch membrane bioreactor treating wastewater from an urban drain

ABSTRACT This work evaluated an anaerobic sequencing batch membrane bioreactor (AnSBR-MBR) equipped with waste-based ceramic membranes for treating low-strength real drain wastewater. Two feeding regimes, viz. settled feed (Phase 1) and mixed feed (Phase 2) were compared. The biological performance (chemical oxygen demand (COD) and phosphate (PO43-) removal) and filtration performance (total suspended solids (TSS) removal and membrane fouling) were investigated. The reactor characteristics in terms of solids content, sludge settling behaviour, and extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) were also assessed. In Phase 1, the settled feed (with the absence of particulate organic matter) resulted in low volatile suspended solids (VSS; 0.23 ± 0.15 g/L), causing low COD removal (28.38 ± 8.14%). In the mixed feed regime in Phase 2, VSS increased (1.82 ± 0.60 g/L) due to the organic content in the particulate matter, which gave microorganisms additional food, resulting in increased COD removal (47.42 ± 2.81%); this phase was also characterised by lower membrane fouling because of the lower EPS content. Marginally higher TSS removal was obtained as well in Phase 2 (96.72 ± 3.26%) than in Phase 1 (90.48 ± 8.14%). This work demonstrates that AnSBR-MBR performance is superior with mixed drain wastewater containing suspended solids and thus pre-settling is not recommended.

Filtration performance of biofilm membrane bioreactor: Fouling control by threshold flux operation

Membrane fouling is the major factor that restricts the furtherly widespread use of membrane bioreactor (MBR). As a new generation of MBR, biofilm membrane bioreactor (BF-MBR) demonstrates high treatment efficiency and low sludge growth rate, however the filtration performance improvement and membrane fouling control are still the challenges for its further development. This work investigated the filtration performance using resistance in series model and membrane fouling control via threshold flux for BF-MBR. At first, the flux behavior and filtration resistance under various operating conditions, including agitation speed, membrane and TMP, were explored by resistance in series model. Because of the desirable anti-fouling capacity, UP100 and UP030 had the high threshold flux (100 and 90 L m−2 h−1) and low irreversible fouling resistance (1 and 1.3 × 10−10 m-1). Higher shear stress produced by higher agitation speed could reduce membrane fouling, while greatly promote the threshold flux (138 L m−2 h−1) and membrane cleaning efficiency (96%). Moreover, increasing shear stress or selecting membrane with large pore size could decrease the fouling rate and raise the threshold flux. As for TMP, high TMP reduced the removal rate for organic and nutrient, and enhanced the irreversible fouling. Besides, the aerobic-BF-MBR (101 L m−2 h−1 and 1.3 × 10−10 m-1) with lower foulant concentration had a better filtration performance than anoxic-BF-MBR (90 L m−2 h−1 and 1.5 × 10−10 m-1). Additionally, the long-term tests with 10 cycles were conducted to evaluate the industrial application value of BF-MBR (45–58 L m−2 h−1). This work provides the technical support for sustainable filtration performance of BF-MBR.

Role of biochar addition to improve anaerobic membrane bioreactors to resist oil stress in synthetic food wastewater treatment

This study investigated biochar addition to improve the performance and stability of anaerobic membrane bioreactor (AnMBR) to resist different oil contents in food wastewater treatment. Results show that an increase in oil content in synthetic food wastewater from 2 to 4 g/L of oleate-Na aggravated AnMBR performance in terms of methane (CH4) production and membrane fouling as showed by an obvious increase in transmembrane pressure (TMP). The reduced performance was caused by the accumulation of volatile fatty acids (VFAs) to inhibit the growth and activity of Methanobacterium in response to increased oil content. Nevertheless, biochar addition improved AnMBR resistance to against oil increase. The dominance of Methanobacterium and their potential mutualism with genus T78 were enhanced by biochar to sustain CH4 yield. Moreover, biochar reduced the production of extracellular polymeric substance (EPS) to alleviate membrane fouling.

A comparative study on performance of the conventional and fixed-bed membrane bioreactors for treatment of Naproxen from pharmaceutical wastewater

Here, a comparative study was designed to survey the treatment efficiency of pharmaceutical wastewater containing Naproxen by Membrane bioreactor (MBR) and MBR with fixed-bed packing media (FBMBR). To this end, the performance of MBR and FBMBR in different aeration conditions including average DO (1.9–3.8 mg/L), different organic loading (OLR) (0.86, 1.14 and 1.92 kg COD per cubic meter per day), and Naproxen removal efficiency. The BOD5 removal efficiency, effluent quality and membrane fouling were monitored within 140 days. The results obtained from the present study indicated that COD removal efficiency for FBMBR (96.46%) was higher than that for MBR (95.33%). In addition, a high COD removal efficiency was experienced in both MBR and FBMBR in operational conditions 3 and 4, even where OLR increased from 1.14 to 1.92 kgCOD/m3 d and DO decreased from 4 to < 1 mg/L. Furthermore, the higher Naproxen removal efficiency was observed in FBMBR (94.17%) compared to that for MBR (92.76%). Therefore, FBMBR is a feasible and promising method for efficient treatment of pharmaceuptical wastewater with high concentrations of emerging contaminant, especially, the Naproxen.

Performance of a novel hybrid membrane bioreactor (HMBR) treating synthetic dairy wastewater: assessment of coupled mechanical removal sections and MBR

Performance of a novel hybrid membrane bioreactor (HMBR) treating synthetic dairy wastewater: assessment of coupled mechanical removal sections and MBR

Permeate flux recovery and removal foulant performances of hollow fiber polyvinylidene fluoride membrane bioreactor with peroxodisulfate activated iron (II) sulfate as a chemical cleaning agent

The main challenge with membrane bioreactors is fouling, which leads to decreased flux performance and a shortened membrane lifespan. This study aims to provide a solution for the flux recovery and removal of irreversible fouling on Polyvinylidene Fluoride (PVDF) membranes without damaging their structure using sulfate radicals. Sulfate radicals are formed via peroxodisulfate precursors that are activated by Fe2+. The membrane flux recovery and irreversible fouling ratio were 88.45-99.04% and 11.60-0.96%, respectively, at operating temperatures of 298-308 K. The PVDF membrane has been tested for microfiltration and washed up to 6 times per cycle. The mechanical properties, XRD, SEM-EDX, and ATR-FTIR characterization of the PVDF membrane after washing with PDS/Fe2+ did not show a negative effect on the PVDF structure. Additionally, the results of the kinetic and thermodynamic studies showed that washing with PDS/Fe2+ inhibited the formation of fouling particles on the membrane surface. Based on this study, sulfate radical oxidants with PDS precursors activated by Fe2+ can be applied as cleaning chemicals for PVDF membranes without damaging their structures.

How high salt shock affects performance and membrane fouling characteristics of a halophilic membrane bioreactor used for treating hypersaline wastewater

In the present study, the effect of short-term salt shocks (13% and 20%) on the performance of a halophilic MBR bioreactor used to treat a hypersaline (5% salt) synthetic wastewater was considered. 13% and 20% salt shocks resulted in a transient and permanent decrease in chemical oxygen demand removal efficiency, respectively which could be correlated with soluble microbial products (SMP) concentration and specific oxygen uptake rate values of the halophilic population. DNA leakage tests suggested that both 13% and 20% short-term salt shocks resulted in some cell structural damage. During both 13% and 20% salt shocks mixed liquor SMP, extracellular polymeric substances (EPS), zeta potential and endogenous respiration increased while relative hydrophobicity, EPSp/EPSc and exogenous respiration decreased; in both cases, however, the pre-shock values for these parameters were restored after the removal of the salt shock. 13% salt shock resulted in a transient increase in the membrane fouling rate and a permanent rise in total membrane resistance (Rt). On the other hand, both membrane fouling rate and Rt increased during 20% salt shock. Membrane fouling rate initially reduced after the 20% salt shock removal but after 5 days a “TMP jump” occurred. The latter was caused by the higher steady state SMPc and SMPp concentrations after removal of 20% salt shock compared to pre-shock values. This might have either resulted in a decrease in critical flux or an increase in local flux above critical flux in some parts of the membrane. The contribution of cake layer resistance to overall membrane resistance increased after the 13% and 20% salt shocks. The findings of the present study reveal the robustness of halophilic MBRs against salt shocks in the treatment of hypersaline wastewater. However, in cases of very high salt shocks, appropriate membrane fouling reduction strategies should be carried out during its operation.

Performance of Fe-dosing membrane bioreactor and evaluation of phosphorus recovery as vivianite after long-term operation

In this study, the influence of high concentration of iron on the nutrient removal, membrane fouling and microbial diversity of membrane bioreactor for wastewater treatment were systematically investigated. Moreover, the potential of phosphorus recovery in the form of vivianite was assessed after the long-term operation. The results show that TP concentration in effluent was decreased to 1.07 ± 0.47 mg/L (without Fe addition), 0.41 ± 0.23 mg/L (Fe/P = 2), 0.20 ± 0.12 mg/L (Fe/P = 4). Compared with control group, the TN concentration in effluent was higher at the high concentration of iron, which was due to the decreased nitrite-oxidizing bacteria (NOB) by microbial population analysis. Membrane fouling was alleviated by enlarging floc size and reducing supernatant COD via adding iron. Besides, it was detected that the amorphous ferric oxide and Fe(III) bound phosphorus were the main Fe and P speciation and vivanite (ca. 29 %). The anaerobic environment was conducive to the formation of vivianite and the phosphorus recovery as vivanite was recommended based on the results of current study.

Optimum quorum quenching bacteria concentration in the better-quality cell entrapping beads to control biofouling in membrane bioreactor

Quorum quenching (QQ) by cell entrapping beads (CEBs) is known to inhibit biofouling by its biological and physical cleaning effect. Although there are better QQ media reported, due to the ease of fabrication of QQ-CEBs, this study focused on improving the quality of CEBs by comparing two distinct bead-making methods – polyvinyl alcohol-alginate (PVA-alginate) and phase inversion – and on finding the optimum concentration of QQ bacteria in the CEBs. The evaluation of PVA-alginate bead showed better uniformity, and higher mechanical and chemical strength in comparison with the phase inversion bead. Through the operations of two control membrane bioreactors (MBRs) (no bead, vacant bead) and four QQ-MBRs with different Rhodococcus sp. BH4 concentrations (2.5–15 mg cell ml−1) in PVA-alginate CEBs, the maximum QQ effect was observed by 5 mg ml−1 BH4 concentration beads. This implies that an optimum cell concentration of QQ-CEBs is crucial to economically improve MBR performance using QQ.