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A Review on Membrane Fouling in Membrane Bioreactors: Control and Mitigation

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Environmental Contaminants

Part of the book series: Energy, Environment, and Sustainability ((ENENSU))

Abstract

The growing interest toward the effective treatment of wastewater of different origin has increased worldwide, where membrane bioreactor (MBR) technology appears as the most appropriate treatment system. Membrane provides solid–liquid separation in MBRs and releases high-quality effluents which could be further reused for different purposes. The conventional biological treatment system often faces challenge of sludge disposal and requires larger footprint for their operation. These issues can be combated using MBR systems. However, MBR system associates with the membrane fouling problems, which limits its widespread application in wastewater treatment systems. Membrane fouling requires repeated cleaning that may reduce the membrane life span and frequent membrane replacement which incurs high cost. Membrane fouling leads to increase in transmembrane pressure (TMP), rapid declination of permeate flux, and increase in filtration resistance. The main factors that influence the membrane fouling are membrane characteristics, biomass characteristics, operating conditions, and membrane configuration. To address the recent advances made in MBR fouling, this paper reviews the mechanism, influencing factors, and methods for controlling and preventing membrane fouling. In addition, this chapter also deliberates the use of various adsorbents for controlling membrane fouling in MBRs.

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Abbreviations

AT:

Ambient temperature

AIEX:

Anion exchange

AnMBR:

Anaerobic membrane bioreactor

CA:

Cellulose acetate

CFV:

Cross-flow velocity

CST:

Capillary suction time

DM:

Dissolved matter

DO:

Dissolved oxygen

DWW:

Domestic wastewater

EDTA:

Ethylene diamine tetra acetic acid

EPS:

Extracellular polymeric substance

FS:

Flat sheet

HCl:

Hydrochloric acid

HRT:

Hydraulic retention time

MAR:

Mesoporous adsorbent resin

MBR:

Membrane bioreactor

MIEXR:

Magnetic ion-exchange resin

MLSS:

Mixed liquor suspended solids

MMM:

Mixed matrix membrane

MWCNT:

Multiwalled carbon nanotube

MWW:

Municipal wastewater

NaOCl:

Sodium hypochlorite

NOM:

Natural organic matter

PAC:

Powdered activated carbon

PE:

Polyethylene

PS:

Polyether sulfone

PVDF:

Polyvinylidene difluoride

SDS:

Sodium dodecyl sulfate

SMP:

Soluble microbial product

SRF:

Sludge resistance to filtration

SRT:

Sludge retention time

SS:

Suspended solids

SWW:

Synthetic wastewater

TMP:

Transmembrane pressure

VFA:

Volatile fatty acid

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology (ISM), Dhanbad, 826004, Jharkhand, India

    Isha Burman & Alok Sinha

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  1. Isha Burman
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  2. Alok Sinha
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Correspondence to Alok Sinha .

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  1. Department of Civil Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur, Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, India

    Tarun Gupta

  2. Department of Mechanical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur, Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, India

    Avinash Kumar Agarwal

  3. Department of Civil Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur, Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, India

    Rashmi Avinash Agarwal

  4. Energy and Resource Management Division, CSIR-National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI), Nagpur, Maharashtra, India

    Nitin K. Labhsetwar

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Burman, I., Sinha, A. (2018). A Review on Membrane Fouling in Membrane Bioreactors: Control and Mitigation. In: Gupta, T., Agarwal, A., Agarwal, R., Labhsetwar, N. (eds) Environmental Contaminants. Energy, Environment, and Sustainability. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-7332-8_13

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