Effect of upflow velocity on the effluent membrane fouling potential in membrane coupled upflow anaerobic sludge blanket reactors

Hale Ozgun*, Mustafa Evren Ersahin, Yu Tao, Henri Spanjers, Jules B. van Lier

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

25 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

This study investigated the effect of upflow velocity (Vup) on biological removal efficiency and effluent filterability in a laboratory scale upflow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB) reactor. Upflow velocities of 1.2, 0.6 and 1.2m/h were applied in three successive stages over a total operation period of 116days. Filterability tests were carried out during each stage in order to assess the effect of Vup on subsequent membrane performance. Results indicated a significant impact of Vup on both biological performance and physicochemical effluent characteristics. The observed differences in protein/carbohydrate ratio and particle size distribution (PSD), which play important roles in membrane fouling, lead to the hypothesis that Vup is a critical parameter for effluent filterability in membrane coupled UASB reactors. Results showed that filterability of the effluent during the operation at 0.6m/h was better than that during the operation at 1.2m/h.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)285-292
Number of pages8
JournalBioresource Technology
Volume147
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Nov 2013

Funding

The authors would like to express their gratitude for the PhD Fellowship awards provided by the Turkish Academy of Sciences (TUBA) to Hale Ozgun, by HUYGENS Scholarship Programme to M. Evren Ersahin and by the China Scholarship Council to Yu Tao. This publication is produced as part of the A-Racer project , with Pentair, Saxion, TU Delft, Water Board Regge & Dinkel as partners. The project ( IWA10007 ) is partly funded by the Dutch Government via AgentschapNL under the InnoWator program. Authors would like to thank Marisa Buyers-Basso for critically editing the manuscript on style and grammar.

FundersFunder number
AgentschapNL
Dutch Government
TUBA
Türkiye Bilimler Akademisi
China Scholarship CouncilIWA10007

    Keywords

    • Anaerobic membrane bioreactor
    • Filterability
    • Municipal wastewater
    • Upflow anaerobic sludge blanket reactor
    • Upflow velocity

    Fingerprint

    Dive into the research topics of 'Effect of upflow velocity on the effluent membrane fouling potential in membrane coupled upflow anaerobic sludge blanket reactors'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

    Cite this