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http://dx.doi.org/10.14579/MEMBRANE_JOURNAL.2015.25.3.276

Effects of Fouling Reduction by Intermittent Aeration in Membrane Bioreactors  

Choi, Youngkeun (Juheung Entech Co., Ltd.)
Kim, Hyun-Chul (Water Resources Research Institute, Sejong University)
Noh, Soohong (Department of Environmental Engineering, Yonsei University)
Publication Information
Membrane Journal / v.25, no.3, 2015 , pp. 276-286 More about this Journal
Abstract
The effects of relaxation and backwashing on fouling in ultrafiltration were investigated using full-scale membrane bioreactors (MBRs) which operated at a constant flux of 30 LMH. This paper also estimated the feasibility of using intermittent aeration strategies for minimizing the hydraulic resistance to filtration in comparison with the continuous aeration for running MBRs. Multiple cycles of filtration (14.5 min each) and relaxation (0.5 min each) were repeated. Similarly, a backwash was conducted by replacing a relaxation after each filtration cycle for the comparative performance test. The attached cake thickness on the membrane rapidly increased, caused by subsequent no aeration leading to easier combining with gel layer and the formation of heterogeneous layer on the membrane surface. During periodic backwashing, it is expected that gel and thin cake layer might sufficiently be removed by heterogeneous layer. After periodic backwashing, subsequent cake layer formation during time of no aeration was rapid than frequent no aeration, acting as a prefilter and preventing further irreversible fouling. Based on the Pearson correlation analysis, overall period fouling (dTMP/min) and average of all cycles (dTMP/min) were strongly correlated with the on-off period of aeration for operating MBRs.
Keywords
Cake formation; Membrane bioreactor; Ultrafiltration; Intermittent aeration; Continuous aeration;
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