Fouling mitigation in membrane bioreactors using multivalent cations

•Presence of cations in MBR removes colloids, soluble biopolymers and induces bioflocculability of activated sludge.•Introduction of different multivalent metallic cations is a way of fouling mitigation in MBRs.•Pore blocking and cake layer permeability of membrane hydraulic resistance decreased with charge density.•Membrane fouling was correlated to biopolymers concentration and mean flocs size of activated sludge.

Several cations have been used to study the effect of mineral coagulants on activated sludge properties and membrane fouling in submerged membrane bioreactors (MBRs). The flocculability and settling properties of activated sludge were studied in various concentrations of sodium, potassium, magnesium, calcium, ferrum (in Fe3+ form), and aluminum. Significant effect of cations and their concentrations on different parameters have been analyzed by 2-way ANOVA. Results showed that multivalent cations induce flocculation in bioreactors while monovalent cations have a detrimental effect on flocculability of activated sludge. The ratio of tight bound extracellular polymeric substances (TB-EPSs) to loosely bound (LB-EPSs) increased with concentration of multivalent cations that was in accordance with enhancement of biosorption in high concentration of multivalent cations. Moreover, these cations improved the settleability and dewatering properties of activated sludge. They also mitigated membrane fouling in the MBRs so that calcium and aluminum reduced membrane fouling to nearly 30%. Simple but useful correlations were developed for description of activated sludge properties based on easy measurable parameters that could be used also for estimation of membrane fouling. It was found that the ratio of TB-EPS to LB-EPS and also flocs size distribution are the main parameters affecting membrane fouling.

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