Fouling in membrane bioreactors used in wastewater treatment

Recent advances in membrane bioreactors (MBRs): membrane fouling and membrane material.

Membrane fouling in membrane bioreactors—Characterisation, contradictions, cause and cures

The forward osmosis membrane bioreactor: A low fouling alternative to MBR processes

Membrane bioreactors (MBRs), in which membranes are applied to biological wastewater treatment for biomass separation, provide many advantages over conventional treatment. However, membrane fouling in MBRs restricts their widespread application because it reduces productivity and increases maintenance and operating costs. Recently much research and development has taken place to investigate, model, and control membrane fouling processes. However, unified and well-structured theories on membrane fouling are not currently available because of the complexity of the biomass matrix, which is highly heterogeneous and includes living microorganisms. Membrane fouling in MBR systems can be reversible (i.e., removable by physical washing) or irreversible (removable by chemical cleaning only), and can take place on the membrane surface or into the membrane pores. Although establishing a general model to describe membrane fouling in such a process is made extremely difficult by the inherent heterogeneity of the syste...

El Hani Bouhabila

Papers

Fouling characterisation in membrane bioreactors

Microfiltration of activated sludge using submerged membrane with air bubbling (application to wastewater treatment)