Drinking water denitrification in membrane bioreactor/membrane contactor systems

The results of an experimental study, developed on a membrane bioreactor/membrane contactor pilot plant, aimed at drinking water denitrification are presented and discussed. In the adopted configuration the water, contaminated by nitrates, flows inside the fibres of a membrane unit. Due to the existing concentration gradient, nitrates migrate through the membrane and are reduced to nitrogen gas by the autotrophic biomass attached on the exterior of the fibres, and fed with an external source of organic carbon. Data obtained varying influent flow values and nitrate influent concentrations, confirm the potentiality of the system and show the possibility of full-scale applications. A new mathematical model, useful for both simulation and design of the system is also presented. The model is based on simple mass balances in the flow direction, and through the membrane. Each fibre is considered a plug-flow reactor, and nitrate concentration outside the fibres is assumed to be always zero. To obtain an explicit expression useful for simulation and design of membrane bioreactors/membrane contactors, steady-state conditions are supposed. Experimental data are in good agreement with the model's results, and confirm its applicability.     

一体式膜生物反应器中料液粘度的研究

探讨了一体式膜生物反应器中料液粘度变化的原因,以及料液粘度对膜过滤阻力的影响。试验结果表明:料液粘度的增加主要因反应器中累积的高浓度胞外聚合物(EPS)所致;污泥粘度随着EPS浓度的变化而变化,二者之间存在很好的相关性(r=0.9958);污泥粘度与膜过滤阻力有较好的相关性(r=0.9006)。     

Flow regimes in a turbulent bed contactor

Experiments were conducted in a turbulent bed contactor (TBC) with and without downcomer operating in Type I and Type II modes to obtain the flow regime maps. The variables include flow rate of the gas and liquid phases, size and density of the particles, bed height, free open area of the supporting grid, and diameter and weir height of the downcomer. Static, partially fluidized, completely fluidized, flooding and annular regimes are identified depending on geometric and operating conditions. The effect of these variables on flow maps is discussed and correlations are proposed for delineating the flow regimes.     

Effect of operational parameters on sludge accumulation on membrane surfaces in a submerged membrane bioreactor

In the present study, an orthogonal array design was adopted to investigate effects of operational parameters including aeration intensity, membrane flux, suction time and non-suction time on sludge accumulation on membrane surfaces respectively at a high SS concentration of 10 g l⁻¹ and a low SS concentration of 1 g l⁻¹ in a submerged membrane bioreactor. Average transmembrane pressure (TMP) increase rate over the operation time was used to evaluate sludge accumulation. Among the four factors, membrane flux was found to influence TMP the most obviously. The effect of aeration intensity became significant only at a high SS concentration of 10 g l⁻¹. TMP increased with suction time and decreased with non-suction time. There was a critical membrane flux over which sludge particles were deposited, and accordingly, TMP increased sharply. Two zones, predicting whether sludge particles are deposited or not, could be comprehensively determined by the critical flux, correspondent aeration intensity and SS concentration. For long-term stable operation, it is suggested that a membrane bioreactor be operated in the zone with prediction of no obvious sludge deposit on membrane surfaces.     

Mixing between a round jet and a transverse turbulent pipe flow

A light-scatter technique, marker nephelometry, was used to obtain air-in-air mixing data on the system resulting from the injection, at right angles through a port in the wall, of a round subsonic jet into a fully developed turbulent pipe flow. Though the pipe Reynolds number was also varied, the important input variables were the port to pipe mean speed ratio of the input streams (2.5–12.5), and the port to pipe diameter ratio (0.020–0.058). Jet trajectories were measured and the associated mixing field was characterized in terms of both the jet source fluid mean concentration and concentration fluctuations. The process was also studied as to concentration fluctuation spectral density, integral scale, and intermittency.     

膜生物反应器中污泥特性对膜污染的影响研究

膜生物反应器(MBR)是膜技术与污水生物技术的组合工艺，与传统污水处理工艺相比具有许多优点，但膜污染目前仍是限制MBR广泛应用的突出问题。有效的膜污染防治技术，可以增加膜通量，增强系统稳定性，减少系统维护和运行费用。在膜过滤过程中，污泥混合液的特性对于膜污染具有重要作用。近年来围绕污泥特性对膜污染的防治问题取得了许多研究成果，膜污染的数学模型研究也得到了很大发展。     

Control of oxygen concentration in water using a hollow fiber membrane contactor

A novel theoretical analysis was performed to regulate the oxygen concentration in water using a membrane contactor composed of nonporous hollow fibers. The governing ordinary differential equations were derived for the countercurrent flow of the feed water and the feed gas in a membrane contactor. The governing equations were regarded as a two point boundary value problem. The nonlinear ordinary differential equations were simultaneously solved using a finite difference method. The computer program was coded in Fortran language using the Compaq Visual Fortran Software. It was found that the concentration of oxygen dissolved in water increases from 28.9 to 64.3 ppm as the area of the membrane increases from 1.24 to 3.73 m² at the given typical operating condition: the flow rate of the feed gas is kept to be 1.0 L/min; its pressure is maintained to be 4 atm; the flow rate of the water is 15 L/min. It is observed that the concentration of oxygen increases from 48.2 to 56.2 ppm as the concentration of the feed gas increases from 0.75 to 0.95 mole fraction. As the flow rate of the water increases from 15 to 25 L/min, the concentration of oxygen decreases from 56.2 to 38.6 ppm with a constant membrane area of 3.11 m².     

Nitrification and sludge characteristics in a submerged membrane bioreactor on synthetic inorganic wastewater

A submerged membrane bioreactor (SMBR) treating ammonia-bearing synthetic inorganic wastewater withoutsludge purge was studied in respect to nitrification and microbial parameters over a period of 210 days. The reactor was operated at a hydraulic retention time (HRT) of 24 h, and the NH_4-N volumetric loading rate increased from 0.18 to 1.30 kg NH₄⁺-N m⁻³d⁻¹ by increasing influent NH₄⁺-N from 180 mg/l⁻¹ to 1300 mg/l⁻¹. With the exception of a short period after the failure of pH control, the NH₄⁺-N⁺ removal rate, was constantly above 99%. Due to the influent characteristics and the interception of the membrane module, the mixed liquor suspended solids (MLSS) varied from 3000 to 5000 mg/l⁻¹ and the nitrifying bacteria were dominant in the SMBR. The numbers of ammonia oxidizers and nitrite oxidizers in the mixed liquor increased from 0.9×10⁸ ml⁻¹ and 1.0×10⁸ ml to 1.6×10⁸ ml⁻¹ and 9×10⁸ ml⁻¹ respectively, and the specific nitrification rate from 0.27 to 0.56 g NH₄⁺-N g⁻¹ SS⁻¹ d⁻¹. An increasing occurrence of extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) around microbial clusters with operation time was clearly observed on scanning electron micrographs (SEM). The pressure difference of the membrane module was not over 0.01 mPa over the whole operation period. Present results show that SMBR can be operated efficiently and stably as a high-rate nitrifying technology.     

Modelling of hydrodynamics in a type I turbulent bed contactor

A simple model for the hydrodynamics in Type I TBC is developed for the prediction of hydrodynamic variables such as the phase holdups, bed expansion and pressure drop based on the model by Chern et al. (1983. Hydrodynamics of constrained inverse fluidization and semifluidization in a gas-liquid-solid system. Chemical Engineering Science 38, 1167). This is done by modelling the TBC as a packed bed with large porosities carrying countercurrent gas-liquid flow. The process parameters considered are gas and liquid velocities, particle size and density. The dependence of hydrodynamic variables on process parameters predicted by simulation agrees well with that reported in literature.     

膜生物反应器中污泥EPS的提取方法

采用七种方法（热、酸、碱处理等）提取MBR（Membrane Bioreactor）中污泥EPS（extracellular polymeric substances）,研究了这些方法对于污泥EPS的最佳提取条件。在综合考虑各种方法的精确性、操作简易度、提取效果、对污泥细胞的破坏程度后,确定EDTA二钠提取（浓度2%,3h）和热提取（80℃,45min）是最简便有效的两种提取方法。NaOH提取（1mol.L^-1,2h）对污泥细胞具有很大的破坏作用,投加甲醛（浓度2%,2h）之后提取核酸含量减少了21.5%,降低了NaOH溶液提取对于细胞的破坏作用。     

Experimental and numerical characterization of viscous flow and mixing in an impinging jet contactor

The laminar flow in an impinging jet contactor is examined as a first step toward the development of new technology for fast mixing of viscous fluids. The flow, velocity, and stretching fields in an impinging jet contactor are quantified for low Reynolds number flow using three-dimensional numerical simulations and particle image velocimetry measurements. Computational and experimental velocity fields are in close agreement, as quantified by the velocity probability density functions. Two steady-state flow regimes are found to exist: for jet Reynolds numbers (Re_j) < 10, the jets do not impinge and the velocity field scales linearly with Reynolds number; for Re_j > 10, the jets begin to impinge and recirculation regions form above and below the impingement point. The magnitude of the rate-of-strain tensor is calculated as a function of Re_j. While areas of essentially zero stretching occupy most of the flow domain, very high rates of stretching occur at specific locations in the flow. The maximum and average rates of stretching in the contactor increase roughly linearly as a function of Reynolds number. Mixing simulations show that no mixing occurs for the steady flow in a symmetric-jet contactor. However, mixing is improved substantially by a slight modification of the impinging jet geometry that disrupts geometric symmetry.     

Liquid hold-up and minimum fluidization velocity in a turbulent contactor

Transient-response experiments have been performed in conjunction with bed expansion measurements to determine liquid hold-ups and minimum fluidization velocities in a 12-in. turbulent-bed gas-liquid contactor. The amount of liquid hold-up was found to be independent of gas velocity, but dependent upon both liquid rate and packing diameter in the same manner as reported for conventional fixed-bed absorbers. The data on minimum fluidization velocity, G_mf, which was interpreted in the present study as the maximum gas mass velocity at which the bed maintained its static height, showed a considerable variation with packing diameter, d_p and liquid flow rate, L. A correlation of G_mf with d_p and L was presented.     

Hydrodynamics and flow regimes in turbulent bed contactor with non‐Newtonian liquids

The flow regimes normally encountered in a turbulent bed contactor (TBC) are static, partially fluidised, completely fluidised and flooding regimes. Experiments were conducted in a TBC operating in Type I mode to identify the flow regimes with non‐Newtonian liquid. Flow regime transition velocities were obtained from the pressure drop and bed expansion measurements at various operating and geometric variables. The variables include apparent viscosity of the liquid, gas and liquid velocities, size and density of the particles, and static bed height. The effect of the above variables on delineation of flow regime transition was studied. Based on the experimental data, correlations were proposed for predicting the transition velocity from one regime to the other. The influence of the variables on regime transition velocities is more or less similar to that observed for Newtonian liquids. © 2011 Canadian Society for Chemical Engineering     

Feasibility analysis of SO2 absorption using a hydrophilic ceramic membrane contactor

Hydrophilic ceramic membranes would be potential candidates for membrane gas absorption if they could be applied to appropriate separation processes. This study highlights a novel concept for the practical implementation of SO₂ absorption in hydrophilic ceramic membrane that exhibits outstanding thermal and mechanical stabilities. With this aim, we investigated experimentally the performance of SO₂ absorption into aqueous sodium hydroxide (NaOH) solution in a hydrophilic alumina (Al₂O₃) membrane contactor in terms of SO₂ removal efficiency and SO₂ mass transfer flux, and compared the performance with that in a hydrophobic one. A series of experiments were performed at various conditions over a NaOH concentration range of 0-1.0 mol·L^-1, a liquid flow rate range of 30-180 ml·min^-1, a gas flow rate range of 120-1000 ml·min^-1, an inlet SO₂ concentration range of 400-2000 μl·L^-1, and a temperature range of 10-35℃. It was found that the hydrophilic membrane was more competitive when using a NaOH concentration higher than 0.2 mol·L^-1. Furthermore, it can be inferred that the hydrophilic α-Al₂O₃ membrane exhibited exceptional long-term stability under 480 h continuous operation.     

几种不同基材动态膜生物反应器污泥层性质分析

在动态膜生物反应器（DMBR）中,膜污染的有效控制至关重要。选用4种膜基材料：聚酯无纺布、聚丙烯无纺布、聚酯筛网、聚酰胺筛网,考察膜基材料受污染程度,分析膜面污染物成分。结果表明：应用DMBR处理模拟生活污水,4种材料易受污染的程度依次为聚酰胺筛网、聚酯筛网、聚丙烯无纺布、聚酯无纺布,筛网比无纺布更易发生不可逆污染。膜面物质不可逆污染层中的胞外聚合物含量对膜污染有重要作用,其中蛋白质、多糖均与膜污染相关,蛋白质较多糖与膜污染具有更密切关系。     

High strength wastewater treatment in a jet loop membrane bioreactor: kinetics and performance evaluation

Treatment of wastewater containing high organic matter was investigated by means of a jet loop bioreactor combined with a membrane process. Volume of jet loop bioreactor and area of membrane filtration unit were 23 l and 155 cm² respectively. It was found that jet loop reactor had high mass transfer coefficient (K_La) varying from 58.8 to 486 h^-1 depending on the water flow rate (i.e. power input) and air flow rate. Oxygen transfer efficiency and oxygenation capacity of the reactor varied from 12 to 22.5% and from 0.2 to 1.8 , respectively. The efficiency of jet loop membrane bioreactor was found to be approximately 97% for a volumetric organic load of 2- over a period of 10 weeks. The reactor was not disturbed from the organic loads up to , but the treatment efficiency decreased to about 60% at higher organic loads. This decrease was due to insufficient oxygen transfer rate. The relationship between the effluent substrate concentration and the specific oxygen uptake rate (SOUR) values was determined. Applied food/microorganism (F/M) ratio was varied between 2.5 and . Critical sludge age of the system () was evaluated to be 7.2 h. Sludge with unsatisfactory settling characteristics formed at high F/M values under turbulent conditions. Therefore, membrane process was used for solid-liquid separation and effluent solid concentration was approximately zero. Specific cake resistances (α) changed with F/M ratio. It was found that permeate fluxes were significantly effected with F/M ratio much more than mixed liquor suspended solids (MLSS). Average flux was for pore sized cellulose acetate membrane. It was concluded that the jet loop membrane bioreactor has distinctive advantages such as the ability to treat high strength wastewater, low area requirements and easy operation.     

六级连续化膜生物反应工艺在丙烯酰胺生产中的应用研究

以自由细胞替代固定化细胞,成功设计了六级连续化中空纤维膜生物反应器新工艺,应用于丙烯酰胺的微生物转化过程,并对其操作工艺和可行性进行了研究。结果表明:在15℃下,该六级连续化过程稳定运行80 h时,丙烯腈的转化率达99.9%以上,丙烯酰胺产物浓度达434.23 g/L,生产效率达到0.01526 mol/(L.min),生产效率比固定化细胞批式反应提高了一倍以上,产品溶液浓度提高50%以上。中空纤维膜可以使反应液和菌体得到有效的分离,且在反应液中没有检测到副产物丙烯酸。新工艺实现了丙烯酰胺的稳定连续化生产。     

无排泥条件下膜生物反应器污泥混合液可滤性分析

膜生物反应器（MBR）在无排泥条件下运行100 d,定期对溶解性微生物产物（SMP）、SMP分子量分布、胞外聚合物（EPS）中的蛋白质和多糖进行监测,应用修正的污染指数（MFI）考察污泥混合液可滤性的变化。实验表明：长时间无排泥运行模式下将导致污泥混合液可滤性的恶化;污泥混合液上清液中分子量（M_w）大于10 kDa 的SMP浓度对污泥混合液的可滤性产生强烈的负面影响;污泥浓度（MLSS）与混合液可滤性之间关系复杂,MLSS对污泥可滤性的影响存在一个临界值;EPS中的蛋白质60 d后发现可被微生物迅速降解,多糖类物质对污泥混合液可滤性有较强的负面影响。     

Numerical simulation of mass transfer in a liquid–liquid membrane contactor for laminar flow conditions

Liquid–liquid phase membrane contactors are increasingly being used for mixing and reaction. The principle is the following: component A flows through the membrane device inlet to mix/react with component B which comes from the membrane pores. This study presents a numerical simulation using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) of momentum and mass transfer in a tubular membrane contactor for laminar flow conditions. The velocity and concentration profiles of components A–C are obtained by resolution of the Navier-Stokes and convection-diffusion equations. The numerical simulations show that mixing between A and B is obtained by diffusion along the streamlines separating both components. The mixing/reaction zone width is within the region of a few hundred of microns, and depends on the diffusion coefficients of A and B. Hollow fiber membrane devices are found to be of particular interest because their inner diameter is close to the mixing zone width.