Study on efficiency and mechanism of ultrasonic controlling membrane fouling in ceramic membrane bioreactors

Abstract

In recent years, ceramic membranes have been increasingly used in membrane bioreactors (MBRs). However, membrane fouling was still the core issue restricting the large‐scale engineering application of ceramic MBRs. As a novel and alternative technology, ultrasonic could be used to control membrane fouling. This research focused on the efficiency and mechanism of ultrasonic controlling membrane fouling in ceramic MBRs. The results showed that ultrasonic reduced the sludge concentration in MBR, and the average particle size of sludge was always in a high range. The sludge activity of the system was stable at 6–9 (mg O2·(g MLSS·h)−1), indicating that ultrasonic did not destroy the activity of microorganisms in the system. The extracellular polymer substance (EPS) of the ultrasonic group was slightly higher than that of the control group, while the soluble microbial product (SMP) content was relatively stable. The ceramic membrane of the ultrasonic group has a partial retention effect on the organic components. The application of ultrasonic slowed down the decrease of the hydrophilicity of the ceramic membrane. The main pollutants on the membrane surface exist in the form of aromatic and heteroaromatic rings, alkynes, and so forth. Ultrasonic removes the amide substances from the membrane surface. Membrane fouling resistance is mainly due to membrane pore blockage, accounting for 75.53%.Practitioner Points Enrich the research on the mechanism of ultrasonic technology in membrane fouling control. The MBR can still operate normally with ultrasonic applied. The time for the ceramic membrane to reach the fouling end point is 2.4 times that without ultrasonic. The main cause of membrane fouling was pore blocking, accounting for 75.53%.