Formation of pre-coating dynamic membrane on mesh filter by cross-flow filtration of PAC–water suspension in a bioreactor: experimental and modeling

Abstract

A B S T R A C TThis study presents a closed-loop process for forming pre-coated dynamic membrane used in membrane bioreactor. Powder-activated carbon (PAC) particles are suspended by using axial-flow agitator whilst simultaneously deposited upon the filter medium by cross-flow filtration. The revolution speed of agitator is varied in the range of 150-450 rpm. Computational fluid dynamic is used to calculate velocity and shear rate adjacent to membrane surface. The force balance of the particles considers the driving force of dynamic membrane formation, drag force due to negative pressure-driven of suction pump, lift force due to mechanical mixing, and adhesive force due to particle-particle interactions. The effect of two major terms including drag and lift forces on the porosity of dynamic membrane is systematically investigated. The lower drag force results in the higher porosity of dynamic membrane. The results also show that the denser dynamic membrane is formed when the lift force becomes lower. The porosity of dynamic membrane is ranged from 0.38 to 0.46 while the thickness of dynamic membrane is altered between 100 and 500 μm. A dimensionless immobilized parameter is derived to predict the formation of pre-coating dynamic membrane. The results obtained from modeling show that dynamic membranes formed at higher values of immobilization parameter have a more cohesive structure. The results obtained from the experiments and the model reveal that the thickness of 400 μm of PAC layer is considered as a stability threshold thereafter the structure of dynamic membrane becomes loose and unstable. The rejection capacity of dynamic membrane is also evaluated at different thicknesses by using Formazin solution. The results reveal that the turbidity of filtrate decreases with increasing the thickness of dynamic membrane. The results display that rejection capacity of pre-coating dynamic membrane is comparable to that of microfiltration membrane.

Investigating the effect of sparger configuration on the hydrodynamics of a full-scale membrane bioreactor using computational fluid dynamics

“…With the aid of CFD simulation, local parameters, which are difficult to measure experimentally, can be calculated. Several inclusive studies can be found on the CFD simulation of MBRs, [9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19] airli bioreactors, 20,21 stirred tank reactors, 22,23 and bubble columns. 24,25 In an MBR, aeration is the main mixing mechanism; 10 hence, optimization of mixing characteristics affects the energy consumption.…”