TY - JOUR
T1 - Attached-growth configuration outperforms continuously stirred tank anaerobic membrane bioreactors in alleviating membrane biofouling
AU - Cheng, Hong
AU - Zhou, Jianqiang
AU - Hong, Pei-Ying
N1 - KAUST Repository Item: Exported on 2021-06-11
Acknowledged KAUST grant number(s): REI/1/4178-03-01
Acknowledgements: This study was supported by KAUST Translation Fund REI/1/4223-01-01 and Center of Excellence for NEOM Research flagship projects REI/1/4178-03-01 awarded to P.Y.-H.
PY - 2021/5/12
Y1 - 2021/5/12
N2 - Biofouling impedes the performance of anaerobic membrane bioreactors (AnMBR). Two reactors, one as an up-flow attachment-growth AnMBR (UA-AnMBR) configuration, and the other, as a continuously stirred AnMBR (CS-AnMBR) were evaluated for differences in membrane fouling rate. TMP increment in UA-AnMBR was slower than CS-AnMBR, although both reactors had similar COD removal efficiency (ca. > 96%). Slower fouling rate for UA-AnMBR was related to lower total and viable cells, and thereby microbial activity compared to that in CS-AnMBR. Acinetobacter and Methanobacterium that played keystone roles in anaerobic biofilm formation were not consistently prevalent on the membranes connected to UA-AnMBR. This is in contrast to both Acinetobacter and Methanobacterium consistently prevalent on the membranes connected to CS-AnMBR. The findings suggest that UA-AnMBR can alleviate membrane biofouling through changes in microbial activity and profile dynamics, and would be a suitable reactor configuration to adopt to achieve an efficient AnMBR for municipal wastewater treatment.
AB - Biofouling impedes the performance of anaerobic membrane bioreactors (AnMBR). Two reactors, one as an up-flow attachment-growth AnMBR (UA-AnMBR) configuration, and the other, as a continuously stirred AnMBR (CS-AnMBR) were evaluated for differences in membrane fouling rate. TMP increment in UA-AnMBR was slower than CS-AnMBR, although both reactors had similar COD removal efficiency (ca. > 96%). Slower fouling rate for UA-AnMBR was related to lower total and viable cells, and thereby microbial activity compared to that in CS-AnMBR. Acinetobacter and Methanobacterium that played keystone roles in anaerobic biofilm formation were not consistently prevalent on the membranes connected to UA-AnMBR. This is in contrast to both Acinetobacter and Methanobacterium consistently prevalent on the membranes connected to CS-AnMBR. The findings suggest that UA-AnMBR can alleviate membrane biofouling through changes in microbial activity and profile dynamics, and would be a suitable reactor configuration to adopt to achieve an efficient AnMBR for municipal wastewater treatment.
UR - http://hdl.handle.net/10754/669513
UR - https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0013935121005661
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85106320942&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.envres.2021.111272
DO - 10.1016/j.envres.2021.111272
M3 - Article
C2 - 33989627
SN - 0013-9351
VL - 199
SP - 111272
JO - Environmental Research
JF - Environmental Research
ER -