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MS ‐2 and T4 phage removal in an anaerobic membrane bioreactor ( AnMBR ): effect of gas sparging rate
Author(s) -
Fox Rachel,
Stuckey David
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
journal of chemical technology and biotechnology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.64
H-Index - 117
eISSN - 1097-4660
pISSN - 0268-2575
DOI - 10.1002/jctb.4586
Subject(s) - sparging , bioreactor , chemistry , anaerobic exercise , membrane , biomass (ecology) , microbiology and biotechnology , chromatography , biology , biochemistry , organic chemistry , physiology , agronomy
BACKGROUND The enhanced removal of viruses in wastewater treatments plant is important due to concerns about public health. Bacteriophages (or phages) are often used to model the behavior of pathogenic human viruses as they are similar in size, structure and behavior. This study investigated the removal of phages MS ‐2 (25 nm) and T4 (200 nm) in an anaerobic membrane bioreactor ( AnMBR ) with a membrane pore size of 0.4 µm. RESULTS The membrane reactor without biomass was assessed and its log removal was 0.7 ± 0.4 log for the MS ‐2 phage, and 2.3 ± 0.2 log for the T4 . When anaerobic biomass was added to the reactor the log removal for both phages increased, and this was thought to be due to a complex relationship with the biofilm on the membrane. CONCLUSIONS Overall MS ‐2 rejections ranged from 1.75 up to 5.5 log, with the highest rejections observed at the highest sparging rates after extensive fouling had occurred. For T4 , removal in the AnMBR ranged from 5 log up to complete removal (>log 7). © 2014 Society of Chemical Industry