Effect of upflow velocity on the effluent membrane fouling potential in membrane coupled upflow anaerobic sludge blanket reactors
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Published on: December 25, 2015
Hale Ozgun1, Mustafa Evren Ersahin1, Yu Tao2
1Department of Watermanagement, Section Sanitary Engineering, Delft University of Technology, PO Box 5048, 2600 GA, Delft, The Netherlands; Istanbul Technical University, Civil Engineering Faculty, Environmental Engineering Department, Ayazaga Campus, Maslak, 34469 Istanbul, Turkey.
Abstract:
This study investigated the effect of upflow velocity (Vup) on biological removal efficiency and effluent filterability in a laboratory scale upflow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB) reactor. Upflow velocities of 1.2, 0.6 and 1.2m/h were applied in three successive stages over a total operation period of 116 days. Filterability tests were carried out during each stage in order to assess the effect of Vup on subsequent membrane performance. Results indicated a significant impact of Vup on both biological performance and physicochemical effluent characteristics. The observed differences in protein/carbohydrate ratio and particle size distribution (PSD), which play important roles in membrane fouling, lead to the hypothesis that Vup is a critical parameter for effluent filterability in membrane coupled UASB reactors. Results showed that filterability of the effluent during the operation at 0.6m/h was better than that during the operation at 1.2m/h.
