Strategies for Mitigating MBR Membrane Biofouling

Abstract

Membrane biofouling is a roadblock to the application of membrane bioreactors (MBR) for wastewater treatment and reuse. Strategies for the mitigation of membrane biofouling have been extensively reviewed in this paper. The review was focused on feedwater pretreatment, modified membranes, suppression of the secretion and discharge of extracellular polymeric substances (EPSs) and soluble microbial products (SMPs), and novel MRB systems. The three identified novel strategies for mitigating membrane biofouling in an MBR for wastewater reclamation are lower EPS concentration by adding D-amino acids (D-AAs) and a cationic polymer flucculant; introducing a modified membrane in an MBR; and applying a novel algae-bacteria system. Experimental results have shown that membrane biofouling has been mitigated to some extent via these strategies.

Keywords: biofouling mitigation, MBR, EPS, SMPs, D-AAs, coagulant, modified membrane, algae-bacteria system, wastewater, reclamation