Premium
A New Approach to Modeling Operational Conditions for Mitigating Fouling in Membrane Bioreactor
Author(s) -
Pourabdollah Mehdi,
Torkian Ayoob,
Hosseinzadeh Majid
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
water environment research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.356
H-Index - 73
eISSN - 1554-7531
pISSN - 1061-4303
DOI - 10.2175/106143016x14798353399133
Subject(s) - aeration , membrane bioreactor , fouling , membrane fouling , bioreactor , filtration (mathematics) , response surface methodology , pulp and paper industry , membrane , chemistry , hollow fiber membrane , chromatography , membrane reactor , environmental engineering , environmental science , chemical engineering , mathematics , engineering , biochemistry , statistics , organic chemistry
ABSTRACT: Modeling and optimization tools play a key role in membrane fouling control in membrane bioreactor (MBR) systems by delineating the more important variables involved. In this study, the influence of sludge retention time (SRT), aeration rate and filtration mode on hollow fiber membrane fouling was investigated. Using the response surface methodology (RSM) for modeling and central composite rotatable design (CCRD) for design of experiments, mathematical models were developed for fouling rate and protein (P1, P2) and carbohydrate (C1, C2) concentrations in two layers of fouling. Results showed that sludge retention time (SRT) was the most important variable in most models followed by aeration rate. Aeration showed a more effective role on the models of the rinsed layer (P1, C1) than backwashed layer (P2, C2). Backwashed layer had more influence on total fouling rate than rinsed layer. The optimal point for MBR operation was: SRT = 30 days, aeration = 10.7 L/min, relaxation interval = 8.8 minutes, and relaxation duration = 41.8 seconds.