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Membranes 2012, 2(3), 565-584; doi:10.3390/membranes2030565

Review

Microbial Relevant Fouling in Membrane Bioreactors: Influencing Factors, Characterization, and Fouling Control

Bing Wu ^1,*  and Anthony G. Fane ^1,2

¹ Singapore Membrane Technology Centre, Nanyang Technological University, 1 Cleantech Loop, CleanTech One #06-08, Singapore 637141, Singapore ² Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore 639798, Singapore

* Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.

Received: 20 June 2012; in revised form: 20 July 2012 / Accepted: 9 August 2012 / Published: 15 August 2012

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Membranes in Water Purification)

Download PDF Full-Text [271 KB, uploaded 15 August 2012 14:40 CEST]

Abstract: Microorganisms in membrane bioreactors (MBRs) play important roles on degradation of organic/inorganic substances in wastewaters, while microbial deposition/growth and microbial product accumulation on membranes potentially induce membrane fouling. Generally, there is a need to characterize membrane foulants and to determine their relations to the evolution of membrane fouling in order to identify a suitable fouling control approach in MBRs. This review summarized the factors in MBRs that influence microbial behaviors (community compositions, physical properties, and microbial products). The state-of-the-art techniques to characterize biofoulants in MBRs were reported. The strategies for controlling microbial relevant fouling were discussed and the future studies on membrane fouling mechanisms in MBRs were proposed.

Keywords: extracellular polymeric substances; membrane fouling; microbial community structure; microbial flocs; microbial soluble substances

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