Performance enhancement and fouling mitigation by organic flocculant addition in membrane bioreactor at high salt shock

The main objective of this study was to investigate the effect of an organic flocculant (MPE50) addition on reducing membrane fouling and enhancing performance in membrane bioreactor (MBR) at the high salt shock. Results show that MPE50 addition is a reliable and effective approach in terms of both membrane fouling mitigation and pollutants removal improvement in the case of high salt shock. Compared to the control reactor, the MBR with MPE50 addition enhanced the average removal of COD, NH4+-N and TP by 4.1%, 13.2% and 21.2%, respectively. Due to the effect of flocculation and adsorption by MPE50, a significant reduction in the soluble microbial products (SMP) proteins amount was observed. As a result, the membrane fouling rate was mitigated successfully. Further, the increasing of mean particles size, Zeta potential and related hydrophobicity of the flocs would also have positive impacts on membrane fouling mitigation.