Fundamentals of Membrane Bioreactors: Materials, Systems and Membrane Fouling (Springer Transactions in Civil and Environmental Engineering)

This book provides a critical, carefully researched, up-to-date summary of membranes for membrane bioreactors. It presents a comprehensive and self-contained outline of the fundamentals of membrane bioreactors, especially their relevance as an advanced water treatment technology. This outline helps to bring the technology to the readers’ attention, and positions the critical topic of membrane fouling as one of the key impediments to its more widescale adoption. The target readership includes researchers and industrial practitioners with an interest in membrane bioreactors. Acknowledgements 6 Contents 7 1 Introduction to Membrane Bioreactors 9 1.1 Introduction 9 1.2 History of Membrane Bioreactors 12 1.3 Membrane Bioreactor Configurations 13 1.4 Advantages and Limitations of Membrane Bioreactors 15 References 17 2 Fundamentals of Membrane Processes 21 2.1 Membrane Classification by Membrane Structure 21 2.2 Membrane Materials 23 2.2.1 Inorganic Membranes 24 2.2.2 Polymeric Membranes 26 2.2.3 Composite Membranes 28 2.2.4 Formation of Membranes by Phase Inversion Method 32 2.3 Membrane Fabrication Techniques 35 2.3.1 Flat Sheet Membranes 35 2.3.2 Hollow Fibre Membranes 37 References 38 3 Fouling in Membrane Bioreactors 46 3.1 Membrane Fouling 46 3.1.1 Causes of Fouling 48 3.1.2 Effects of Fouling 51 3.1.2.1 Models of Membrane Fouling 51 3.1.2.2 Types of Fouling 53 3.1.3 Techniques for the Control of Membrane Fouling in Membrane Bioreactors 66 3.1.3.1 Pretreatment of Feed 66 3.1.3.2 Optimization of Operating Conditions 67 3.1.3.3 Cleaning Procedures 70 3.1.3.4 Optimization of Membrane Characteristics 73 3.1.3.5 Gas Sparging/Air Sparging 73 3.1.3.6 Pulsatile Flow 76 3.1.3.7 Bubbling 77 3.2 Conclusions 78 References 79 4 Surface Modification of Polyethersulfone Membranes 93 4.1 Introduction 93 4.2 Surface Modification 95 4.3 Bulk Modification 96 4.4 Physical Modification of PES 98 4.4.1 Blending 98 4.4.2 Plasma Treatment and Plasma-Induced Grafting Polymerisation 113 References 121 5 Membrane Characterization Techniques 136 5.1 Introduction 136 5.2 Composition Characterization 137 5.3 Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) 137 5.4 Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) 139 5.5 X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS) 139 5.6 Thermal Gravitational Analysis (TGA) 140 5.7 Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC) 140 5.8 Energy-Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy (EDS) 141 5.9 Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) 141 5.10 Atomic Force Microscopy 143 5.11 Characterization of Membrane Performance 145 5.12 Hydrophilicity/Hydrophobicity of Membranes 145 5.13 Permeability and Selectivity of Membranes 146 5.14 Antifouling Properties 147 5.15 Anticoagulation Properties of Membranes 147 5.16 Membrane Stability 148 5.17 Stability After Physical Modification of PES Membrane 148 5.18 Stability After Chemical Modification of PES Membrane 151 References 152 Front Matter....Pages i-viii Introduction to Membrane Bioreactors....Pages 1-12 Fundamentals of Membrane Processes....Pages 13-37 Fouling in Membrane Bioreactors....Pages 39-85 Surface Modification of Polyethersulfone Membranes....Pages 87-129 Membrane Characterization Techniques....Pages 131-150