• Membrane Journal
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• v.11 no.4
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• pp.170-178
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• 2001

PVC microfiltration membrane was prepared by phase immersion method and applied to membrane bioreactor (MBR) contained activated sludge. The hydrophilicity of membrane and the pore size increase with the amount of additive(PVP) ducting the preparation of membrane. Permeation characteristics and the membrane fouling behavior were investigated by varying the internal environment in MBR using the prepared membranes. When there is a sludge bulking in MBR caused by microorganism, membrane fouling was accumulated. The cake layer resistance, R$_{c}$, of membrane increased in the order of CP-0 > CP-1.0 > CP-1.5. Rc increased up to 3.5~7 fold where the sludge bulking occurred in MBR. CP-1.5 seems to be appropriated membrane on the basis of the surface characteristics and the flux. The average flux of all the test membrane was 12(${\pm}$2) L/$m^2$hr whereas the COD removal efficiency was 98.8%. The ratio of bulking sludge and the type and the size of microorganism in operating MBR accelerate the membrane fouling and flux decline. It is concluded that the characteristic of membrane filtration depends on the hydrophilicity of membrane, the internal environment of MBR reactor and the growth factor of sludge.

• Journal of Environmental Science International
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• v.20 no.9
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• pp.1079-1085
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• 2011

The purpose of this study is to find the operational characteristics of nitrifier-dominated membrane bioreactor (MBR), which has been extensively studied for organic removal, especially in terms of nitrite ($NO_2$-N) build-up and membrane fouling. Membrane fouling is one of the important factor which determines the economics of MBR system. The characteristics of membrane fouling was monitored in terms of the fouling indices such as sludge volume index (SVI), the concentration of total organic carbon (TOC) and extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) in a membrane permeate or sludge extract, the absorbance of supernatant at 260 nm. Most of index values except for protein concentration in EPS had a close relation with the increase of suction pressure and SVI value. Nitrifying MBR was superior to the conventional organic-oxidizing MBR in terms of membrane fouling since the fouling index value of nitrifying MBR was lower than that of BOD-oxidizing MBR.

• Proceedings of the Membrane Society of Korea Conference
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• 1998.06a
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• pp.113-133
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• 1998

In activated sludge process, sludge settling condition is affected by organic loading rate or operation condition, and if settling condition is getting worse, it is common that overall process fails due to wash-out of biomass causing low concentration in the aeration tank. Also activated sludge process has such several problems as requiring large area, consuming a lot of power and producing large volume of sludge. Increased public concern over health and the environment combined with a strong desire to reduce capital, operating and maintenance costs, have created a need for innovative technologies for building new high quality effluents which vail meet 21st century crkeria. MBR(Membrane Bioreactor) process consists of a biological reactor and ultrafiltration(UF) membrane system that replaces the conventional clarifier of an activated sludge process. The main operating advantages of this system are that the quality of the effluent is independent of the settleability of the mixed liquor and that the effluent is free of suspended solids in any operating condition. It is possible to eliminate clarifier and to reduce the volume of aeration tank because it can afford to accumulate high biomass concentration in the bioreactor(20, 000~30, 000mg/L), which would not be possible in a conventional activated sludge process. Therefore, this process reduces overall treatment plant area. In addition to those advantages, Longer SRT condition enables higher sludge digestion in MBR process so the sludge volume produced is 50 to 70% lower than that of conventional activated sludge process There are two kinds of MBR process according to the allocations of membrane. One is cross flow type MBR of which module is located outside of the bioreactor and mixed liquor is driven into the membrane module. The other is submerged type MBR process of which module is submerged in the bioreactor and mixed liquor is generally sucked from the lumen side. addition to that the cake layer is often removed by the uplifting flow of bubbling air. A submerged MBR process is superior to a crossflow MBR in regard to the power consumption because suction pressure of a submerged MBR is generally lower than that of a crossflow MBR which has recirculation pump. A submerged MBR, therefore, has the potential to be applied to small wastewater treatment plants that need low cost treatment systems.

• Journal of Korean Society on Water Environment
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.113-122
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• 2002

A bench-scale anoxic membrane bioreactor (MBR) system, consisting of a bioreactor coupled to a ceramic crossflow ultrafiltration module, was evaluated to treat a synthetic wastewater containing alkaline hydrolysis byproducts (hydrolysates) of RDX, The wastewater was formulated the same as RDX hydrolysates, and consisted of acetate, formate, formaldehyde as carbon sources and nitrite, nitrate as electron accepters. The MBR system removed 80 to 90% of these carbon sources, and approximately 90% of the stoichiometric amount of nitrate, 60% of nitrite. The reactor was also operated over a range of transmembrane pressures, temperatures, suspended solids concentration, and organic loading rate in order to maximize treatment efficiency and permeate flux. Increasing transmembrane pressure and temperature did not improve membrane flux significantly. Increasing biomass concentration in the bioreactor decreased the permeate flux significantly. The maximum volumetric organic loading rate was $0.72kg\;COD/m^3/day$, and the maximum F/M ratio was 0.50 kg N/kg MLSS/day and 1.82 kg COD/kg MLSS/day. Membrane permeate was clear and essentially free of bacteria, as indicated by heterotrophic plate count. Permeate flux ranged between 0.15 and $2.0m^3/m^2/day$ and was maintained by routine backwashing every 3 to 4 day. Backwashing with 2% NaOCl solution every fourth or fifth backwashing cycle was able to restore membrane flux to its original value.

• Proceedings of the Membrane Society of Korea Conference
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• 2002.05a
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• pp.163-167
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• 2002

• Proceedings of the Membrane Society of Korea Conference
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• 1999.10b
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• pp.97-99
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• 1999

• Membrane and Water Treatment
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• v.8 no.6
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• pp.517-528
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• 2017

This study evaluates the performance of membrane bioreactor (MBR) coupled with a modified walnut shell granular activated carbon (WSGAC) for tannery wastewater treatment. For this purpose, a pilot with overall volume of 80L and 12 hours hydraulic retention time (HRT) is operated in three scenarios. Here, the chemical oxidation demand (COD) of wastewater is reduced more than 98% in both C:N ratios of 13 (S1) and 6.5 (S2). This performance also remains intact when alkalinity depletes and pH reduces below 6 (S3). The ammonium removal ranges between 99% (S2) and 70% (S3). The reliability of system in different operating conditions is due to high solids retention time and larger flocs formation in MBR. The average breakthrough periods of WSGAC are determined between 15 minutes (S2) and 25 minutes (S1). In this period, the overall nitrate removal of MBR-WSGAC exceeds 95%. It is also realized that adding no chemicals for alkalinity stabilization and consequently pH reduction of MBR effluent (S3) can slightly lengthen the breakthrough from 15 to 20 minutes. Consequently, MBR can successfully remove the organic content of tannery wastewater even in adverse operational conditions and provide proper influent for WSGAC.

• Membrane and Water Treatment
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• v.8 no.5
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• pp.395-409
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• 2017

Membrane bioreactor (MBR) is a compact and efficient wastewater treatment and reclamation technology; but, it is limited by membrane fouling. The control of membrane fouling significantly increases operational and maintenance costs. Bacteria and their byproducts - extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) - are major contributors to membrane fouling in MBRs. A recent attempt at fouling mitigation is the development of aerobic granular sludge membrane bioreactor (AGMBR) through the integration of a novel biotechnology - aerobic granulation - and MBR. This paper provides an overview on the development of AGMBR to mitigate membrane fouling caused by bacteria and EPS. In AGMBR, EPS are used up in granule formation; and, the rigid structure of granules provides a surface for bacteria to attach to rather than the membrane surface. Preliminary research on AGMBR using synthetic wastewater show remarkable membrane fouling reduction compared to conventional MBR, thus improved membrane filtration. Enhanced performance in AGMBR using actual municipal wastewater at pilot-scale has also been reported. Therefore, further research is needed to determine AGMBR optimal operational conditions to enhance granule stability in long-term operations and in full-scale applications.

• Journal of Korean Society of Water and Wastewater
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• v.37 no.6
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• pp.325-334
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• 2023

Membrane bioreactor (MBR) provides the benefits on high effluent quality and construction cost without the secondary clarification. Despite of these advantages, fouling, which clogs the pore in membrane modules, affects the membrane life span and effluent quality. Studies on the laboratory scale MBR were focused on the control of particulate fouling, organic fouling and inorganic fouling. However, less studies were focused on the control of biofouling and microbial aspect of membrane. In the full scale operation, most MBR produces high effluent quality to meet the national permit of discharge regulation. In this study, the performance and microbial community analysis were investigated in two MBRs. As the results, the performance of organic removal, nitrogen removal, and phosphorus removal was similar both MBRs. Microbial community analysis, however, showed that Azonexus sp. and Propionivibrio sp. contributed to indirect fouling to cause the chemical cleaning in the DX MBR.

• Membrane and Water Treatment
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• v.11 no.1
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• pp.31-39
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• 2020

Anaerobic membrane bioreactor (AnMBR) treatment has been widely studied in recent years because of the potential for production of bio-energy from wastewater and energy-positive operation of wastewater treatment plants. Several AnMBR systems, including those that incorporate ceramic membranes, take advantage of enhanced water permeability and low membrane fouling potentials. Given that differences in the ceramic membranes may influence the results of AnMBR studies, relevant details are discussed in this review, which focuses on the profiles of common ceramic membranes used in AnMBR, treatment and filtration performances of different anaerobic ceramic membrane bioreactors (AnCMBRs), and the membrane fouling mitigation methods available for effective AnCMBRs operation. The aim of this review is to provide a comprehensive summary of AnCMBR performance, feed wastewater characteristics, operating conditions, and the methods available for effective fouling mitigation.