A fouling suppression system in submerged membrane bioreactors using dielectrophoretic forces

Hawari, Alaa H.; Du, Fei; Baune, Michael; Thöming, Jorg

doi:10.1016/j.jes.2014.07.027

Cited by 38 publications

(21 citation statements)

References 17 publications

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“…Then, they further enhanced the permeate flux by 68% [12]. The same research group [11] demonstrated later that a stronger electric field induces stronger DEP forces on the particles that alleviate fouling more effectively and result in a better permeate flux. On the other hand, they found that stronger electric fields are associated with joule heating.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 91%

“…DEP has gained wide utilization in many nanoscale biological applications. In the wastewater industry, it was used by Du et al and Hawari et al, [9], [11] to suppress fouling in membrane treatment processes. Upon the application of dielectrophoretic forces to wastewater, a net repulsive force is created that causes the migration of particles away from the membrane as a result of the differences in permittivity between the medium and bioparticles.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Assessment of the Effect of Dielectrophoresis (DEP) on the Viability of Activated Sludge Biomass

Larbi¹,

Ltaief²,

Hawari³

et al. 2017

IJESD

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Abstract-Effective application of dielectrophoretic forces in membrane bioreactor (MBR) systems has the potential to suppress membrane fouling. Nevertheless, minimizing the impact of the electric field on biomass suspension is essential to maintain the efficiency of the wastewater treatment process. In this study, interdigitated cylindrical electrodes (IDE), placed inside the membrane module, were used to generate dielectrophoresis (DEP) in an MBR system. The viability of the biomass was determined at different voltages (5-150 V) after 1-hour exposure to a pulsed alternating current (AC) electric field. The results of the behavioral response of the microorganisms revealed that at low voltage applications, the bacteria exhibited good performance and no major impact was found on their viability/metabolism. Whereas at high voltage applications (beyond 100 V), the current intensity and medium temperature increased due to the joule heating effect and caused a significant decline in the bacterial activity and pollutant removal efficiency as a result of bacterial lysis.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 91%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessment of the Effect of Dielectrophoresis (DEP) on the Viability of Activated Sludge Biomass

Larbi¹,

Ltaief²,

Hawari³

et al. 2017

IJESD

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show abstract

“…8. Schematic illustration of fouling suppression mechanism by electrophoresis and electrochemical reactions [41] The potential application of AC power source in EMBR was explored by Hawari et al [51]. Unlike DC electric field, dielectrophoretic (DEP) force is generated in an inhomogeneous electrical field as shown in Figure 9.…”

Section: Electrophoresis and Electrochemicalmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…9. Schematic illustration of DEP force on particle motion direction [51] To sum up, electrophoresis and electrochemical principle have successfully suppressed membrane fouling by pushing foulants away from deposited on the membrane surface and degraded the foulants simultaneously. However, electrophoresis requires higher energy consumption (3 times higher than electrocoagulation) to attain the similar degree of fouling suppression [32].…”

Section: Electrophoresis and Electrochemicalmentioning

confidence: 99%

An Overview of Electrically-enhanced Membrane Bioreactor (EMBR) for Fouling Suppression

Ho¹,

Teow²,

Ang³

et al. 2017

JESTR

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Membrane fouling is the major challenges that hinders the widespread application of membrane bioreactor (MBR). Recently, application of electricity in electrically-enhanced MBR (EMBR) to suppress membrane fouling has gained much attention among research communities. This paper presents an overview of developments on EMBR for fouling suppression in wastewater treatment. The flow of electricity has stimulated several electrokinetic processes including electrophoresis/electrochemical process, and electrocoagulation which are the major fouling suppression mechanisms employed in EMBR. In electrophoresis, the membrane fouling is suppressed by the increased electrorepulsive force between negatively-charged foulants and cathode membrane under the influence of an electric field. Besides, electric field also induces simultaneous electrochemical oxidation and reduction which generate chemicals to degrade pollutant in wastewater. On top of that, use of active anode is reminiscent of electrocoagulation which produces cation coagulants in EMBR that capable to neutralize charge of the foulants and promotes flocs formation. This increases flocs size and sedimentation rate thereafter reduces adhesion of foulants on the membrane surface. Lastly, bioelectricity generation of microbial fuel cell (MFC) integrated with MBR to attain self-sustained EMBR has been studied. Self-sustained EMBR combines the advantages of MFC and MBR in treating wastewater and energy recovery simultaneously. Overall, it is evidenced that MBR and electrokinetic processes have a synergetic enhancement effect in EMBR system.

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“…Up to now it has mostly been researched and applied in the biomedical industry ; e. g. for drug delivery , sensing , stem cell sorting and discrimination , immobilization of single molecules , and sorting of cells ; as well as in the assembly of nanotubes , nanowires , and colloidal structures . In industrial scale processes it is investigated as a measure against colloidal membrane fouling in filtration processes [].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Electrodeless dielectrophoresis: Impact of geometry and material on obstacle polarization

Pesch

Kiewidt

et al. 2015

Electrophoresis

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Insulator-based (electrodeless) dielectrophoresis (iDEP) is a promising particle manipulation technique, based on movement of matter in inhomogeneous fields. The inhomogeneity of the field arises because the excitatory field distorts at obstacles (posts). This effect is caused by accumulation of polarization charges at material interfaces. In this study, we utilize a multipole expansion method to investigate the influence of geometry and material on field distortion of posts with arbitrary cross-sections in homogeneous electric fields applied perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the post. The post then develops a multipole parallel or anti parallel to the excitatory field. The multipoles intensity is defined by the post's structure and material properties and directly influences the DEP particle trapping potential. We analyzed posts with circular and rhombus-shaped cross-sections with different cross-sectional width-to-height ratios and permittivities for their polarization intensity, multipole position, and their particle trapping behavior. A trade-off between high maximum field gradient and high coverage range of the gradient is presented, which is determined by the sharpness of the post's edges. We contribute to the overall understanding of the post polarization mechanism and expect that the results presented will help optimizing the structure of microchannels with arrays of posts for electrodeless DEP application.

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A fouling suppression system in submerged membrane bioreactors using dielectrophoretic forces

Cited by 38 publications

References 17 publications

Assessment of the Effect of Dielectrophoresis (DEP) on the Viability of Activated Sludge Biomass

Assessment of the Effect of Dielectrophoresis (DEP) on the Viability of Activated Sludge Biomass

An Overview of Electrically-enhanced Membrane Bioreactor (EMBR) for Fouling Suppression

Electrodeless dielectrophoresis: Impact of geometry and material on obstacle polarization

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