Flux decline behaviors in dead-end microfiltration of activated sludge and its supernatant

The properties of dead-end microfiltration were explored under constant pressure using two types of activated sludge controlled under the condition of different air flow rates. The activated sludge cultured at the air flow rate of 0.15 L min⁻¹ (the anaerobic condition) exhibited a significant flux decline compared with the case of the air flow rate of 2.33 L min⁻¹ (the aerobic condition). It was found from the results of microfiltration of the supernatant separated by centrifugation that the constituents in the supernatant caused a major cake resistance in microfiltration of the activated sludge. The average specific filtration resistance for filtration of the activated sludge was closely consistent with that for filtration of the supernatant at low pressure (49 kPa). However, the cake resistance of the microbial floc in microfiltration of the activated sludge became substantial with increasing filtration pressure because of high compressibility of the microbial floc. Moreover, the foulant and the fouling mechanism in microfiltration of the supernatant were evaluated from both microfiltration test of the supernatant and microfiltration test of the filtrate collected thereby. As a result, the effects of the pore size and material of the microfiltration membrane on the flux decline behaviors in dead-end microfiltration were reasonably elucidated.     

Long-term study of an intermittent air sparged MBR for synthetic wastewater treatment

Membrane bioreactors (MBR) combine biological processes with membrane filtration. Advantages of MBR in municipal wastewater treatment include high effluent quality and reduced space requirements. Steady operation of membrane plants requires careful management of membrane fouling. Even though it might be impossible to prevent, fouling can be limited by techniques such as gas sparging. The injection of gas bubbles increases the shear stress and removes fouling material from the membrane surface. Most cited literature on air sparging refers to short-term experiments, often times in bench scale. The aim of this study was therefore long-term investigations in pilot plant scale of a 70 L reactor fed with glucose-based synthetic wastewater. The main focus was on enhancing permeate flux by air sparging. The results showed that using air sparging significantly increased the permeate flux was doubled even over several weeks. The findings were interpreted using the dimensionless fouling and shear stress number. The fouling resistance was found to decrease significantly with air injection ratios between 0.4 and 0.5. When air sparging was applied after a period without air sparging, the shear stress number doubled. This increase in shear led to a reduction of the fouling number by approximately 30%. During several weeks air sparging only a slow fouling number increase was. In contrast to that after air sparging was ceased, an exponential increase of the fouling number was observed.     

Emulsion Filtration Through Surface Modified Ceramic Membranes

In this work we studied the influence of membrane hydrophobicity on the filtration of oil/water (O/W) emulsions with a dispersed phase content of 30% (V/V). The membrane filtration process was realized by using ceramic tubular hydrophilic or hydrophobic membranes with different mean pore size (0.2 pm, 1.2 pm, and 1.4 pm of mean pore radius). Hydrophobic character was obtained by modifying superficially the membrane surface with a very thin polymer layer. The results obtained showed that the emulsion viscosity and droplet size distribution depend on the shearing forces and transmembrane pressure. The operating conditions and the nature of the membrane surface/emulsion interaction are the main parameters which control the type and nature of emulsion changes, such as modification of the mean droplet size, concentration into oleic phase or breaking.     

New low-cost tubular ceramic microfiltration membrane based on natural sand for tangential urban wastewater treatment

In wastewater treatment, the development of low-cost separation methods is of significant importance. Low-cost membranes based on natural materials have become a highly active research topic in recent years. Herein, using low-cost natural Moroccan sand, new ceramic supports have been developed and characterized using different techniques such as X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), differential thermal analysis (DTA), along with scanning electron microscope (SEM). Plastic paste (average particle size ≤125 µm) was blended with organic additives and water, then the obtained paste was extruded into porous tubular supports. The support had a porosity of 43%, water permeability of 1928 L/h m² bar, excellent chemical and mechanical properties and an average pore diameter in the range of 8–15 µm after firing at 950 °C/2 h. As per SEM analysis, the tubular supports had a smooth and crack-free surface. The slip casting process was used to create a microfiltration layer from the same natural sand powder (average particle size ≤63 µm) using a mixture of powder sand, water, and polyvinyl alcohol solution. The water permeability of the microfiltration membrane sintered at 950 °C/2 h was 1052 L/h m² bar, the average pore size diameter was about 0.90 µm and 82% of pores had a diameter ≤1.00 µm. The obtained microfiltration membrane was tested for the treatment of urban wastewater. The membrane showed excellent separation performance in turbidity removal and chemical oxygen demand.     

Interaction of dispersed phase with concentration polarization

The effect of a dispersed phase in reducing the concentration polarization in a membrane tube has been studied. The presence of a dispersed phase seems to have an effect in controlling the size of eddy formation and the rate of energy dissipation in the fluid medium. The role of eddy length and the energy dissipation rate on the mass transfer coefficient is discussed. Theoretical results obtained for the mass transfer coefficient and for the concentration polarization in the case of gelatin ultrafiltration are compared with the existing experimental results. The theoretical predictions seem to be in good agreement with the experimentally observed results.     

A microfluidic membrane chip for in situ fouling characterization

A new method for non-invasive in situ monitoring of a microfiltration process is described. In microfiltration systems, local information on the deposition characteristics can be used to determine the cake behavior during a filtration run. Typically, non-invasive methods of fouling study are restricted to specialized membranes, or require highly complex systems. This study employs the use of synthetic embedded channel membranes, with channels separated by a porous structure (active membrane). The characteristics of the active membrane have been analyzed. Deposition on the membrane surface can be observed and monitored optically across the width of the feed channel. This can be used to observe the liquid hydrodynamics in the channel as well as the local cake properties in time. In dead end filtration, it has been observed that with 6 μm particles, the cake initially deposits towards the end of the membrane. However, as filtration continues, the deposition changes with more local deposition towards the channel entrance, leading to a more homogeneous cake layer.     

Aqueous-phase synthesis of PAA in PVDF membrane pores for nanoparticle synthesis and dichlorobiphenyl degradation

This paper deals with bimetallic (Fe/Pd) nanoparticle synthesis inside the membrane pores and application for catalytic dechlorination of toxic organic compounds form aqueous streams. Membranes have been used as platforms for nanoparticle synthesis in order to reduce the agglomeration, encountered in solution phase synthesis which leads to a dramatic loss of reactivity. The membrane support, polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) was modified by in situ polymerization of acrylic acid in aqueous phase. Subsequent steps included ion exchange with Fe²⁺, reduction to Fe⁰ with sodium borohydride and Pd deposition. Various techniques, such as STEM, EDX, FTIR and permeability measurements, were used for membrane characterization and showed that bimetallic (Fe/Pd) nanoparticles with an average size of 20–30 nm have been incorporated inside of the PAA-coated membrane pores. The Fe/Pd-modified membranes showed a high reactivity toward a model compound, 2,2′-dichlorobiphenyl and a strong dependence of degradation on Pd (hydrogenation catalyst) content. The use of convective flow substantially reduces the degradation time: 43% conversion of dichlorobiphenyl to biphenyl can be achieved in less than 40 s residence time. Another important aspect is the ability to regenerate and reuse the Fe/Pd bimetallic systems by washing with a solution of sodium borohydride, because the iron becomes inactivated (corroded) as the dechlorination reaction proceeds.     

Transmission and fractionation of micro-sized particle suspensions

In processes aimed at the fractionation of a multi-component feed stream, transmission of particles through the membrane is at least as important as retention of larger particles. In this paper, we describe the mechanisms of transmission of mono-disperse latex particles through a polymer membrane. The effects of process parameters, such as transmembrane pressure, cross flow velocity and feed concentration were investigated. In dead end filtration mode, we found that, depending on the transmembrane pressure, four particle transmission regimes could be distinguished.

Particle deposition on polymer membranes and polymer microsieves was investigated in-line with confocal scanning laser microscopy (CSLM). It was observed that with the polymer membrane random depth deposition took place, while the microsieve exhibited in-pore fouling.

In addition, bi-disperse particle suspensions were fractionated with dead end and cross flow membrane filtration, and various effects were charted. Based on the phenomena observed, it is concluded that the design of a fractionation process starts with defining a stable transmission regime for small particles, and subsequently choosing the process conditions for minimal deposition of the larger particles.     

Online LC-MS-MS process monitoring for optimization of biological treatment of wastewater containing azo dye concentrates

A biological high-performance treatment process comprising two 40-L reactor compartments has been developed for purification and decoloration of concentrated textile wastewater containing up to 15 g L⁻¹ reactive dyestuff. The decoloration rate of 95% meets the requirements of German legislation for textile wastewater treatment. Successful process development and optimization was achieved by use of high-performance liquid chromatography, with diode-array and electrospray tandem mass spectrometric (LC-ESI-MS-MS) detection, coupled with inline microfiltration membrane-sampling devices, applied online to bioreactors as a process analytical tool for the first time. The optimum process performance was found by correlation of dye and decoloration product-specific concentrations with summary properties such as redox potential and dissolved oxygen content. Details of the degradation and decoloration mechanism for the azo dye reactive black 5 was revealed by using mass spectrometry for structure elucidation.     

Direct-flow microfiltration of aquasols: II. On the role of colloidal natural organic matter

Natural organic matter (NOM) has been considered a major contributor to the fouling of microfiltration (MF) and ultrafiltration (UF) membranes employed in water treatment. However, the fouling potential of NOM has often been assessed in terms of its size or chemical composition. The colloid’s chemical properties have often been ignored. In this study, a chemical attachment-based (CAB) model established previously was used in conjunction with a variety of analytical techniques to investigate the existence of three major components of an aquatic NOM and their role in the fouling of a polyvinylidene fluoride MF membrane. The results suggest that colloidal NOM relevant to membrane fouling has a broader size distribution and variations in chemical properties than proposed previously. For the model aquatic NOM used in this research, fouling was primarily contributed by both non-humic and humic colloidal fractions. The non-humic colloids were larger in size and probably adhered to the membrane regardless of the solution chemistry, while humic colloids had variable size and stickiness depending on solution chemistry. The fouling caused by organic colloids was mostly hydraulically irreversible, as a consequence of favorable surface interactions. The CAB model provided a useful way to understand the role of organic colloids in membrane fouling.