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Frontiers of Environmental Science & Engineering

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Front. Environ. Sci. Eng.    2018, Vol. 12 Issue (6) : 9    https://doi.org/10.1007/s11783-018-1046-7
RESEARCH ARTICLE
Comparison of membrane fouling in ultrafiltration of down-flow and up-flow biological activated carbon effluents
Lu Ao1, Wenjun Liu2(), Yang Qiao2, Cuiping Li3, Xiaomao Wang2
1. Department of Military Installation, Army Logistics University of PLA, Chongqing 401331, China
2. School of Environment, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China
3. Urban Planning & Design Institute of Shenzhen, Shenzhen 518028, China
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Abstract

The UF membrane fouling by down- and up-flow BAC effluents were compared.

Up-flow BAC effluent fouled the membrane faster than down-flow BAC effluent.

The combined effects dominated irreversible fouling.

The extent of fouling exacerbated by inorganic particles was higher.

The TMP, permeate flux, and normalized membrane flux during 21 days of UF of DBAC and UBAC effluents.

Fouling during ultrafiltration of down- and up-flow biological activated carbon effluents was investigated to determine the roles of polysaccharides, proteins, and inorganic particles in ultrafiltration membrane fouling. During ultrafiltration of down- flow biological activated carbon effluent, the trans-membrane pressure was≤26 kPa and the permeate flux was steady at 46.7 L?m−2?h−1. However, during ultrafiltration of up-flow biological activated carbon effluent, the highest trans-membrane pressure was almost 40 kPa and the permeate flux continuously decreased to 30 L?m−2?h−1. At the end of the filtration period, the normalized membrane fluxes were 0.88 and 0.62 for down- and up-flow biological activated carbon effluents, respectively. The membrane removed the turbidity and polysaccharides content by 47.4% and 30.2% in down- flow biological activated effluent and 82.5% and 22.4% in up-flow biological activated carbon effluent, respectively, but retained few proteins. The retention of polysaccharides was higher on the membrane that filtered the down- flow biological activated effluent compared with that on the membrane that filtered the up-flow biological activated carbon effluent. The polysaccharides on the membranes fouled by up-flow biological activated carbon and down- flow biological activated effluents were spread continuously and clustered, respectively. These demonstrated that the up-flow biological activated carbon effluent fouled the membrane faster. Membrane fouling was associated with a portion of the polysaccharides (not the proteins) and inorganic particles in the feed water. When there was little difference in the polysaccharide concentrations between the feed waters, the fouling extent was exacerbated more by inorganic particles than by polysaccharides.
Keywords Ultrafiltration      Membrane fouling      Down-flow biological activated carbon      Up-flow biological activated carbon      Particles      Polysaccharide     
Corresponding Author(s): Wenjun Liu   
Issue Date: 19 August 2018
 Cite this article:   
Lu Ao,Wenjun Liu,Yang Qiao, et al. Comparison of membrane fouling in ultrafiltration of down-flow and up-flow biological activated carbon effluents[J]. Front. Environ. Sci. Eng., 2018, 12(6): 9.
 URL:  
https://academic.hep.com.cn/fese/EN/10.1007/s11783-018-1046-7
https://academic.hep.com.cn/fese/EN/Y2018/V12/I6/9
Parameters DBAC UBAC
Depth of filter (m) 2 2
HRT (min) 12 12
Filtering velocity (m?h-1) 9.6 10
GAC size range (mm) 0.6~2.38 0.6~2.38
Turbidity (NTU) 0.19±0.05 0.57±0.18
DOC (mg?L-1) 3.50±0.17 3.47±0.22
UV254 (1/cm) 0.049±0.015 0.055±0.012
pH 7.47±0.08 7.46±0.09
Polysaccharide (mg?L-1) 0.72±0.09 0.66±0.09
Protein (AFI of region I and II) January 2015 71.4 94.0
February 2015 67.2 80.3
March 2015 48.0 70.3
April 2015 49.5 59.7
May 2015 58.2 80.1
June 2015 49.3 67.9
Tab.1  The operation parameters of the DBAC and UBAC and the water qualities of their effluents.
Fig.1  The TMP, permeate flux, and normalized membrane flux during 21 days of UF of Down BAC and Up BAC effluents
Fig.2  Removal of (a) polysaccharides and (b) turbidity of Down BAC and Up BAC effluents treated by UF
Fig.3  FTIR spectra of the membranes fouled by Down BAC and Up BAC effluents
Fig.4  CLSM images of the membranes fouled by the Down BAC effluent. (a) β-D-Glucopyranose polysaccharides (calcofluor white); (b) proteins (FITC); (c) nucleic acids (SYTO 63); and (d) α-D-glucopyranose polysaccharides (Con A)
Fig.5  CLSM images of the membranes fouled by the Up BAC effluent. (a) β-D-Glucopyranose polysaccharides (calcofluor white); (b) proteins (FITC); (c) nucleic acids (SYTO 63); and (d) α-D-glucopyranose polysaccharides (Con A)
Elements Fig. 6a Fig. 6b Fig. 6c Fig. 6d Fig. 6e Fig. 6f Fig. 6c 1# Fig. 6c 2# Fig. 6c 3# Fig. 6d 3# Fig. 6d 4# Fig. 6d 5#
C 59.9 42.6 42.3 41.5 42.3 44.6 17.5 17.1 36.3 45.3 20.0 15.9
O 17.3 20.6 1.3 1.6 1.2 2.1 28.8 22.3 8.9 10.4 23.6 29.5
F 14.5 56.0 55.5 56.5 53.4 33.6 19.8 6.6
Na 0.4 1.1 2.3 0.5
Mg 0.6 0.9 1.0 8.6 1.0
Al 2.7 12.4 4.7 1.6
Ca 1.7 1.9 0.4 1.5 51.8 60.6 17.2 1.6 44.6 54.6
Mn 1.4
Fe 4.6 5.2
Si 1.7 11.3 1.3 1.7
P 2.2 2.6 1.2 1.0
S 0.8 0.7
K 0.8
Cl 0.7 0.7
Tab.2  Elemental analysis of the fouled membrane and each point illustrated in Figs. 6c and 6d (wt%)
Fig.6  Elemental analyses and SEM images of the membranes fouled by the (a) Down BAC effluent with periodic backwashing; (b) Up BAC effluent; (c) Down BAC effluent and cleaned with sodium hydroxide; (d) Up BAC effluent and cleaned with sodium hydroxide; (e) Down BAC effluent and cleaned with citric acid; and (d) Up BAC effluent and cleaned with citric acid.
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