Different fouling modes of submerged hollow-fiber and flat-sheet membranes induced by high strength wastewater with concurrent biofouling

Abstract

K. (2005). Different fouling modes of submerged hollow-fiber and flat-sheet membranes induced by high strength wastewater with concurrent biofouling. Desalination, 180 (1-3), 89-97. Different fouling modes of submerged hollow-fiber and flat-sheet membranes induced by high strength wastewater with concurrent biofouling Abstract Exploration of two major commercialized flat-sheet and hollow-fiber membranes in a submerged membrane fungi reactor fed with a synthetic textile wastewater revealed striking differences in the extent and mechanism of fouling between the two types, indicating a case-specific scope of choice between the two for industrial wastewater treatment. The hollow-fiber membrane exhibited fouling with a cake layer composed of fungi and starch, intensity being proportional to the operating flux (0.05-0.3 m/d). Conversely, the flat-sheet membrane suffered from immediate internal pore blocking beyond a critical flux of 0.2 m/d. During the experiment with major constituents of the synthetic wastewater separately, while media containing only starch and only dye induced negligible fouling, flux-dependent pore blocking was evident for both the hollow-fiber (0.288 m/d) and flat-sheet membranes (1.3 m/d) for the mixture of starch and dye. Despite a remarkable 99% color and 97% TOC removal achieved by both membranes, fouling with different modes and intensity for the two types under similar conditions and for the same type of membrane under different exposure conditions warrants development of suitable modules for such recalcitrant wastewater. Tokyo, Tokyo,, Japan. AbstractExploration of two major commercialized flat sheet and hollow fiber membranes in a submerged membrane fungi reactor fed with a synthetic textile wastewater revealed striking difference in extent and mechanism of fouling between the two types, indicating case-specific scope of choice between those for industrial wastewater treatment. The hollow fiber membrane exhibited fouling by cake-layer composed of fungi and starch, intensity being proportional to the operating flux (0.05-0.3 m/d). Conversely, the flat sheet membrane suffered from immediate internal pore-blocking beyond a critical flux of 0.2 m/d. During experiment with major constituents of the synthetic wastewater separately, while media containing only starch and only dye induced negligible fouling, flux-dependent pore-blocking emerged in case of both the hollow fiber (0.288 m/d) and flat sheet membranes (1.3 m/d) for the mixture of starch and dye. Despite a remarkable 99% color and 97% TOC removal achieved by both the membranes, fouling with different mode and intensity for the two types of membranes under similar condition, and for the same type of membrane under different exposure condition warrants development of suitable modules for such recalcitrant wastewater.

Fouling in gravity driven Point-of-Use drinking water treatment systems

“…6e and f reveal extensive pore blocking/constriction on the outside membrane surface of the O/I operated membrane module. Similar findings are reported in literature [6], wherein it was observed that pore blocking leads to higher flux decline compared to cake layer formation. Additionally, physical cleaning was found to be more effective for recovering fluxes when the membranes were fouled by cake layer formation compared to internal pore blocking [6].…”

“…It was shown that the mass transfer increased significantly for curved membrane geometries compared to straight ones ( permeate fluxes). Yet another study on membrane configuration compared the response of flat sheet modules against hollow fiber membrane modules during treatment of industrial wastewater [6]. It was observed that for similar feed water characteristics, fouling in the flat sheet membrane was dominated by pore blocking as opposed to cake/gel layer formation observed in case of the hollow fiber configuration [6].…”

“…Yet another study on membrane configuration compared the response of flat sheet modules against hollow fiber membrane modules during treatment of industrial wastewater [6]. It was observed that for similar feed water characteristics, fouling in the flat sheet membrane was dominated by pore blocking as opposed to cake/gel layer formation observed in case of the hollow fiber configuration [6]. The effect of hydrodynamics has also been investigated by employing different feed water flow patterns with respect to the membrane orientation, such as cross-flow and secondary flow.…”

Carbamazepine as a Possible Anthropogenic Marker in Water: Occurrences, Toxicological Effects, Regulations and Removal by Wastewater Treatment Technologies

“…The CAS process involves the application of microorganisms for the degradation of pollutants [16]. A membrane bioreactor (MBR) is an integration of the CAS process with an ultrafiltration (UF) or a microfiltration (MF) membrane for effective solid-liquid separation [3,126,127]. Removal of CBZ by CAS and MBR at different operating conditions such as hydraulic retention time (HRT), solids retention time (SRT) and initial concentration is presented in Table 5.…”

Fouling resistant compact hollow-fiber module with spacer for submerged membrane bioreactor treating high strength industrial wastewater

“…Journal of Membrane Science, 317 (1-2), 34-42. Current address: School of CME, University of Wollongong, Australia (faisal@uow.edu.au); http://www.uow.edu.au/~faisal/ 2 footprint and air-scouring and chemical cleaning requirement, which may favor one process over another for a given application [3,4]. Nevertheless, hollow fiber modules are generally cheaper to manufacture, provide high specific membrane area and can tolerate vigorous backwashing [5].…”