• 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.