A membrane bioreactor was developed to counteract the inhibition effect of furfural in ethanol production. Furfural, a major inhibitor in lignocellulosic hydrolyzates, is a highly toxic substance which is formed from pentose sugars released during the acidic degradation of lignocellulosic materials. Continuous cultivations with complete cell retention were performed at a high dilution rate of 0...

Membrane BioReactor (MBR) in which membrane separation process is combined with biological processes is an efficient alternative for wastewater treatment and reuse. However, the major process problem with MBRs remains the membrane fouling due to the physicochemical interactions between the membrane material and the components in the mixed liquor. Along with the fouling, membrane permeability de...

A detailed study on the performance of a membrane bioreactor is presented, considering diffusion reaction models with product adsorption and structure-function correlations. The enzyme papain was utilized for experimental investigation both in the homogeneous state and on a modified polysulfone (MPS) membrane. Variation of enzyme loading on the membrane and enzyme concentration in the solution ...

Membrane-based bioreactors can greatly influence the rate and extent of chemical reactions and consequently lower the costs associated with the corresponding engineering processes. However, in order to progress in this area, greater understanding of the relationship of the structure and function of bioreactor systems is required. In this study, a proteolytic enzyme, papain (EC 3.4.22.2), was co...

The inoculation and acclimatization of activated sludge (AS) is one of the vital components to provide preferably suspended aerobic growth and desired treatment mechanism for a treated wastewater using MBR. The performance of a floating media biofilter-submerged membrane bioreactor (FMB-SMBR) and a submerged membrane adsorption bioreactor (SMABR) were investigated during the acclimatization. It...

A filtration devise was developed to assess compressibility of fouling layers in membrane bioreactors. The system consists of a flat sheet membrane with air scouring operated at constant transmembrane pressure to assess the influence of pressure on resistance of fouling layers. By fitting a mathematical model, three model parameters were obtained; a back transport parameter describing the kinet...

Membrane bioreactor (MBR) technology has previously been used by water industry to treat high salinity wastewater. In this study, an anoxic-oxic biofilm-membrane bioreactor (AOB-MBR) system has been developed to treat mustard tuber wastewater of 10% salinity (calculated as NaCl). To figure out the effects of operating conditions of the AOB-MBR on membrane fouling rate (KV), response surface met...

An intermittent aerator was newly developed to reduce energy costs in a flat-sheet ceramic membrane bioreactor (MBR) for industrial wastewater treatment. Large air bubbles were supplied over short time interval by the improved technology at bottom of membrane. Performance tests carried out pilot system with two cassettes immersed tank 1-MGD demonstration plant Jurong Water Reclamation Plant (JW...

This paper focuses on the recent research in the development of anaerobic membrane bioreactors in wastewater treatment. Anaerobic wastewater treatment technology is gaining increasing attention due to its capacity to convert wastewater BODs to usable biogas with relatively low energy consumption. The anaerobic membrane bioreactor (AnMBR), which is a combination of the anaerobic biological waste...