Membrane Bioreactor and Dynamic Membrane Bioreactor Performance Comparison Under the Same Conditions

This study aims comparative evaluation of two different membrane modules, 0.45 µm and non-woven dynamic membrane, in AeMBR for synthetic wastewater treatment. Filtration performances of both membrane materials were compared under same operational conditions. Throughout the filtration process, 99% and 95% COD removal efficiencies were achieved relying upon 0.45 µm and non-woven dynamic membrane, respectively. AeMBR was successfully operated at 10 LMH and no chemical cleaning was employed for 30 days. It was perfectly operated up to 15 LMH and then 20 LMH. The turbidity and trans-membrane pressure (TMP) of 0.45 µm was usually higher at the begging compared with the dynamic membrane despite membrane clogging rates were comparable. Capillary suction time (CST), soluble microbial product (SMP), extracellular polymeric substances (EPS), specific resistance to filterability (SRF), attenuated total reflectance fourier transformed-infrared spectroscopy (ATR FT-IR) and denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) analyzes were performed to understand the characterization of the cake deposited on membranes. 16S rDNA region shown significant result in terms of air/ambient temperature change. For both membrane modules, offline chemical cleaning employment with NaOCl and sulfuric acid, respectively, almost completely eliminated foulants and it was found that chemically washed membranes showed pressure close to that of the new membrane.