Fouling and performance of outer selective hollow fiber membrane in osmotic membrane bioreactor: Cross flow and air scouring effects

• Published in: Bioresource technology Vol. 295; p. 122303
• Main Authors: Huy Tran, Van, Lim, Sungil, Jun Park, Myoung, Suk Han, Dong, Phuntsho, Sherub, Park, Hyunwoong, Matsuyama, Hideto, Kyong Shon, Ho
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier Ltd 01-01-2020
• Subjects: Air scouring; Cross flow velocity; Membrane fouling; Osmotic membrane bioreactor; Outer-selective hollow fiber; Cross flow velocity; Osmotic membrane bioreactor; Membrane fouling; Air scouring; Outer-selective hollow fiber
• ISSN: 0960-8524; 1873-2976
• DOI: 10.1016/j.biortech.2019.122303

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•Effects of CFVs and air scouring on performance of OMBR system were investigated.•CFVs showed insignificant impacts on performance and membrane fouling mitigation.•Air scouring significantly mitigated membrane fouling and enhanced performance.•OMBR system showed consistently high performance with initial water flux of 15 LMH.•High removal efficiencies of contaminants and nutrients were achieved by OMBR system.
This study assessed impacts of cross-flow velocity (CFV) and air scouring on the performance and membrane fouling mitigation of a side-stream module containing outer-selective hollow fiber thin film composite forward osmosis membrane in osmosis membrane bioreactor (OMBR) system for urban wastewater treatment. CFV of draw solution was optimized, followed by the impact assessment of three CFVs on feed solution (FS) stream and periodic injection of air scouring into the side-stream module. Overall, the OMBR system exhibited high and stable performance with initial water flux of approximately 15 LMH, high removal efficiencies of bulk organic matter and nutrients. While FS’s CFVs insignificantly affected the performance and membrane fouling, regular air scouring showed substantial impact with better performance and high efficiency in mitigating membrane fouling. These results indicated that periodic air scouring can be applied into the side-stream membrane module for efficient fouling mitigation without interruption the operation of the OMBR system.