Determination of factors causing membrane wetting in membrane distillation bioreactor

Abstract

This report details the study on the wetting and fouling mechanism of the hydrophobic membrane used in membrane distillation bioreactor (MDBR). The aim of this project is to identify the key components which could affect the wetting and fouling situation in MDBR system. Analysis of total organic carbon, total nitrogen, protein, polysaccharides, total suspended solids, particle size and viscosity of the retentate of the submerged MDBR had been carried out for wetting identification. From the study of the MDBR system, a higher total nitrogen level had lead to faster wetting occurrence.A MD crossflow system with varying composition and concentration of synthetic wastewater was carried out to identify the main factors causing wetting in MDBR. The pH, conductivity, operating temperature, flux, TOC/TN, viscosity and surface tension was measured to provide better understanding on the changes caused by wetting of the membrane.