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Gravity-driven membrane (GDM) filtration is one of the promising membrane bioreactor (MBR) configurations. It operates at an ultra-low pressure by gravity, requiring a minimal energy. The objective of this study was to understand the performance of GDM filtration system and characterize the biofouling formation on a flat sheet membrane. This submerged GDM reactor was operated at constant gravitational pressure in treating of two different concentrations of secondary wastewater effluent. Morphology of biofilm layer was acquired by an in-situ and on-line optical coherence tomography (OCT) scanning in a fixed position at regular intervals. The thickness and roughness calculated from OCT images were related to the variation of flux, fouling resistance and permeate quality. At the end of experiment, fouling was quantified by total organic carbon (TOC) and adenosine tri-phosphate (ATP) method. Confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM) was also applied for biofouling morphology observation. The biofouling formed on membrane surface was mostly removed by physical cleaning confirmed by contact angle measurement before and after cleaning. This demonstrated that fouling on the membrane under ultra-low pressure operation was highly reversible. The superiority and sustainability of GDM in both flux maintaining and long-term operation with production of high quality effluent was demonstrated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper introduces a novel approach to study the biofouling development on gravity driven submerged membrane bioreactor (SMBR). The on-line monitoring of biofilm formation on a flat sheet membrane was conducted non-destructively using optical coherence tomography (OCT), allowing the in-situ investigation of the biofilm structure for 43 d. The OCT enabled to obtain a time-lapse of biofilm development on the membrane under the continuous operation. Acquired real-time information on the biofilm structure related to the change in the flux profile confirming the successful monitoring of the dynamic evolution of the biofouling layer. Four different phases were observed linking the permeate flux with the change of biofilm morphology. In particular, a stable flux of 2.1±0.1 L/m 2 h was achieved with the achievement of steady biofilm morphology after 30 d of operation. Biofilm descriptors, such as thickness, biofilm area, macro-porosity and roughness (absolute and relative), were calculated for each OCT acquired scans. Interestingly, relative roughness was correlated with the flux decrease. Furthermore, the precise biofilm morphology obtained from the OCT scans was used in computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulation to better understand the role of biofilm structure on the filtration mechanism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fouling in membrane bioreactors (MBR) is acknowledged to be complex and unclear. An integrated characterization methodology was employed in this study to understand the fouling on a gravity-driven submerged MBR (GD-SMBR). It involved the use of different analytical tools, including optical coherence tomography (OCT), liquid chromatography with organic carbon detection (LC-OCD), total organic carbon (TOC), flow cytometer (FCM), adenosine triphosphate analysis (ATP) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The three-dimensional (3D) biomass morphology was acquired in a real-time through non-destructive and in situ OCT scanning of 75% of the total membrane surface directly in the tank. Results showed that the biomass layer was homogeneously distributed on the membrane surface. The amount of biomass was selectively linked with final destructive autopsy techniques. The LC-OCD analysis indicated the abundance of low molecular weight (LMW) organics in the fouling composition. Three different SEM techniques were applied to investigate the detailed fouling morphology on the membrane. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]