Mechanism of Membrane Fouling and Filtration Characteristics in a Membrane Bioreactor for Industrial Wastewater Treatment
膜生物反应器处理工业废水中膜污染及膜过滤特性研究

The influence of mixed liquor suspended solids (MLSS), soluble microbial product (SMP), extracellular polymeric substance (EPS), colloidal particles and other factors contributed to membrane fouling was analyzed in this pilot test by membrane bioreactor (MBR) process for the leather printing and dyeing industrial park mixed wastewater treatment. The results showed that slight membrane fouling occurred after 120-day experiment with an observable increase in membrane resistance R20 from 1.5×1012 m-1 to 1.8×1012 m-1. Also, a linear correlation was found between the proportion of colloidal particles concentration in TOC of MBR former solution and membrane filtration resistance change. However, the change of MLSS, SMP, EPS and other factors was not correlated with the membrane filtration resistance change. Therefore, the colloidal particle was considered to be the main factor causing membrane fouling, which attached to the membrane surface and deposited to block the membrane pore.