Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 10, 2026

Three-Dimensionally Printed Microfluidic Cross-flow System for Ultrafiltration/Nanofiltration Membrane Performance Testing
10:19

Three-Dimensionally Printed Microfluidic Cross-flow System for Ultrafiltration/Nanofiltration Membrane Performance Testing

Published on: February 13, 2016

Characterization of soluble microbial products and their fouling impacts in membrane bioreactors

Tao Jiang1, Maria D Kennedy, Veerle De Schepper

  • 1BIOMATH, Ghent University, Coupure Links 653, B-9000 Gent, Belgium. tao.jiang@biomath.ugent.be

Environmental Science & Technology
|August 14, 2010
PubMed

Insights

Soluble microbial products (SMP) in membrane bioreactors (MBR) cause fouling. Utilization-associated products (UAP) exhibit the highest fouling potential due to their molecular characteristics, despite lower retention.

Area of Science:

  • Environmental Science
  • Biotechnology

Background:

  • Membrane bioreactor (MBR) fouling is a critical issue affecting wastewater treatment efficiency.
  • Soluble microbial products (SMP) are major contributors to MBR fouling, but their impact depends on concentration and characteristics.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the distinct fouling potentials of biomass-associated products (BAP) and utilization-associated products (UAP), separated components of SMP.
  • To characterize the properties of SMP components and correlate them with fouling mechanisms.

Main Methods:

  • Separation of BAP and UAP from sludge water (SW) for individual analysis.
  • Unstirred cell filtration to study fouling mechanisms.
  • Liquid chromatography-organic carbon detection (LC-OCD) and fluorescence excitation-emission matrix (EEM) for foulant characterization.

Main Results:

  • SMP with higher molecular weight, hydrophilicity, and reduced state showed higher retention.
  • Utilization-associated products (UAP) exhibited the highest specific cake and pore blocking resistance, linked to a higher proportion of low molecular weight molecules.
  • UAP produced during the cell proliferation phase demonstrated the greatest fouling potential.

Conclusions:

  • The characteristics of SMP, not just concentration, significantly influence MBR fouling.
  • UAP, particularly those from the proliferation phase, are key foulants in MBR systems.
  • Understanding SMP component properties is crucial for mitigating MBR fouling.

More Related Videos

A Novel Bioreactor for High Density Cultivation of Diverse Microbial Communities08:13

A Novel Bioreactor for High Density Cultivation of Diverse Microbial Communities

Published on: December 25, 2015

Related Concept Videos

Biofilms01:29

Biofilms

Biofilms are complex communities of microorganisms encased in a self-produced extracellular polysaccharide matrix attached to surfaces. These microbial consortia can include single or multiple species, providing enhanced survival benefits by forming organized, multilayered structures.The formation of biofilms occurs through four key stages: attachment, colonization, development, and dispersal.During attachment, free-swimming planktonic cells adhere to a surface, often facilitated by...
Microbial Wastewater Treatment01:30

Microbial Wastewater Treatment

Microbial communities in aquatic ecosystems play a key role in the natural breakdown of contaminants introduced through domestic and industrial effluents. Acting as biological catalysts, these microbes change and mineralize a wide range of organic and inorganic pollutants under different redox conditions.In oxygen-rich surface waters, aerobic heterotrophs lead organic matter breakdown, using oxygen as the terminal electron acceptor to efficiently oxidize substrates to carbon dioxide and water.
Bioreactor Controls-I01:28

Bioreactor Controls-I

Maintaining optimal conditions within fermenters is essential for maximizing microbial productivity and ensuring process efficiency. This lesson focuses on key parameters—temperature, foam, pH, carbon dioxide, oxygen, and pressure—and their precise measurement and control strategies in fermentation systems.Temperature ControlTemperature regulation is critical due to the exothermic nature of many fermentation processes. In small laboratory fermenters, temperature is commonly monitored using...
Bioreactor Design and Operational System01:29

Bioreactor Design and Operational System

Bioreactors are engineered vessels designed to cultivate microorganisms under controlled conditions for industrial bioprocessing. They maintain sterility and allow precise regulation of pH, temperature, oxygen, and nutrient levels to optimize microbial growth and metabolite production. Bioreactors range from small laboratory units of 1 liter to industrial systems holding up to 500,000 liters, though only about 75% of their volume is actively used for fermentation. The remaining headspace...
Bioreactor Controls-II01:18

Bioreactor Controls-II

In aerobic fermentations, oxygen is vital for microbial growth and metabolite production. Since air comprises only about 20% oxygen and the gas is poorly soluble in water—just 9 ppm at 20°C—supplying sufficient oxygen becomes a critical challenge, especially in high-demand processes like yeast growth or citric acid production. Even a fully saturated broth may offer only a few seconds of oxygen availability.To address this, sterile or scrubbed air is introduced into the fermentor via a sparger...
Scale-Up Processes01:14

Scale-Up Processes

The scale-up of microbial fermentation processes is essential in industrial biotechnology, allowing the transition from laboratory-scale experiments to commercial-scale production while aiming to maintain product yield and quality. This process requires meticulous adjustment of equipment design, process parameters, and contamination control strategies to accommodate increasing culture volumes.At the laboratory scale, cultures are typically maintained in 1 to 10-liter glass or autoclavable...