These tools will no longer be maintained as of December 31, 2024. Archived website can be found here. PubMed4Hh GitHub repository can be found here. Contact NLM Customer Service if you have questions.


Pubmed for Handhelds

PUBMED FOR HANDHELDS

Search MEDLINE/PubMed

  • Title: Effect of membrane bioreactor solids retention time on reverse osmosis membrane fouling for wastewater reuse.
    Author: Farias EL, Howe KJ, Thomson BM.
    Journal: Water Res; 2014 Feb 01; 49():53-61. PubMed ID: 24316181.
    Abstract:
    The effect of the solids retention time (SRT) in a membrane bioreactor (MBR) on the fouling of the membranes in a subsequent reverse osmosis (RO) process used for wastewater reuse was studied experimentally using a pilot-scale treatment system. The MBR-RO pilot system was fed effluent from the primary clarifiers at a large municipal wastewater treatment plant. The SRT in the MBRs was adjusted to approximately 2, 10, and 20 days in three experiments. The normalized specific flux through the MBR and RO membranes was evaluated along with inorganic and organic constituents in the influent and effluent of each process. Increasing the SRT in the MBR led to an increase in the removal of bulk DOC, protein, and carbohydrates, as has been observed in previous studies. Increasing the SRT led to a decrease in the fouling of the MBR membranes, which is consistent with previous studies. However, the opposite trend was observed for fouling of the RO membranes; increasing the SRT of the MBR resulted in increased fouling of the RO membranes. These results indicate that the constituents that foul MBR membranes are not the same as those that foul RO membranes; to be an RO membrane foulant in a MBR-RO system, the constituents must first pass through the MBR membranes without being retained. Thus, an intermediate value of SRT may be best choice of operating conditions in an MBR when the MBR is followed by RO for wastewater reuse.
    [Abstract] [Full Text] [Related] [New Search]