Membrane fouling in a submerged membrane bioreactor with focus on surface properties and interactions of cake sludge and bulk sludge

• Specific filtration resistance of cake sludge was 5 times of that of bulk sludge.
• Cake sludge was more hydrophilic and had worse aggregation ability than bulk sludge.
• Cake sludge possessed more hydrocarbon, less O and N moieties than bulk sludge.
• Surface composition caused fouling behaviors difference of cake and bulk sludge.

In this study, the fouling behaviors and surface properties of cake sludge and bulk sludge in a submerged membrane bioreactor (MBR) were investigated and compared. It was found that the specific filtration resistance (SFR) of cake sludge was about 5 times higher than that of bulk sludge. Two types of sludge possessed similar extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) content, particle size distribution (PSD) and zeta potential. However, their surface properties in terms of surface tensions were significantly different. Further analysis showed that cake sludge was more hydrophilic and had worse aggregation ability. Moreover, cake sludge surface possessed more hydrocarbon, less oxygen and nitrogen moieties than bulk sludge surface. It was suggested that, rather than EPS and PSD differences, the differences in the surface composition were the main cause of the great differences in SFR and adhesion ability between cake sludge and bulk sludge.

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