Mitigating membrane fouling in a high solid food waste thermophilic anaerobic membrane bioreactor by incorporating fixed bed bio-carriers.

Hybrid anaerobic membrane bioreactor (Hy-AnMBR) was developed by incorporating polyurethane sponge carriers to mitigate membrane fouling. The results showed that the membrane fouling was well controlled in Hy-AnMBR from the aspects of sludge property and membrane filtration performance. The solid concentration, including TS and MLSS in the Hy-AnMBR was reduced after introducing the fixed bed carrier, which was 13% and 20% lower than the control AnMBR (Con-AnMBR), and this resulted in improved filtration performance. The scanning electron microscope (SEM) photograph showed that membrane pores could still be observed on the Hy-AnMBR surface, indicating that the cake layer fouling of the Hy-AnMBR was less than the Con-AnMBR. The increase of the EPS and SMP promoted the acceleration of the membrane fouling rate. Analysis through confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM) and membrane cleaning revealed that adding sponge carriers mitigated 3.3%-9% pore-blocking, and the total membrane resistance in the Hy-AnMBR was reduced by 52% compared to the Con-AnMBR. Chemical cleaning was essential for pollutant removal, and membrane permeability recovery was more than 97%.