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

Abstract

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.

Harvesting of Chlorella sp. microalgae by dielectrophoretic force using titanium dioxide (TiO2) insulated electrodes

“…Thus, the long duration of exposure to the electric field might lead to cell death depending on the conditions (Lalonde et al, 2015). A thourough investigation on the cell viability under electric field is found in the references (V. Wei et al, 2011)(Gallo-Villanueva et al, 2011 (Larbi, Ltaief, Hawari, Du, et al, 2017) (Lalonde et al, 2015).…”

Analysis of Some Properties of an Activated Sludge Wastewater Treatment Model

“…Wastewater treatment is a composite activity, which includes specific physical, chemical and biologic a l processes to remove the various contaminants up to acceptable levels for water return to the environment or reuse it [7], [8]. Activated sludge process is among the widespread biological wastewater treatment techniques [9]- [11]. This process is considered to be the most cost-effective way to remove the organic materials from wastewater, especially for large-scale urban wastewater treatment plants [12].…”