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Estimating Virus Production Rates in Aquatic Systems
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Virus removal performance and mechanism of a submerged membrane bioreactor

Wenzhou Lv1,2, Xiang Zheng1, Min Yang1

  • 1State Key Laboratory of Environmental Aquatic Chemistry, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100085, China.

Process Biochemistry (Barking, London, England)
|April 15, 2020
PubMed

Insights

Submerged membrane bioreactors (SMBRs) effectively removed viruses using T4 phage as a model. The cake/gel layer significantly contributed to virus removal in 0.22 μm membranes, while the membrane itself was key for 0.1 μm membranes.

Area of Science:

  • Environmental Microbiology
  • Water Treatment Technologies
  • Membrane Science

Background:

  • The 2003 SARS outbreak highlighted the need for effective wastewater virus removal.
  • Submerged membrane bioreactors (SMBRs) are increasingly used for wastewater treatment.
  • Understanding virus removal mechanisms in SMBRs is crucial for public health.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the virus removal performance and mechanisms of SMBRs.
  • To compare the efficacy of 0.22 μm and 0.1 μm membrane modules for virus removal.
  • To elucidate the roles of membrane layers and operational conditions in virus removal.

Main Methods:

  • Continuous operation of two SMBR modules (0.22 μm and 0.1 μm) for 75 days.
  • Utilized bacteriophage T4 as a model virus to assess removal efficiency.
  • Quantified phage removal by membrane, cake layer, and gel layer.

Main Results:

  • SMBRs achieved near-complete phage removal (>99.99%) in stable operation.
  • For the 0.22 μm membrane, the cake/gel layer accounted for a 9.4 log removal, with the membrane contributing 1.7 log.
  • The 0.1 μm membrane relied primarily on the membrane itself for removal, supplemented by sludge inactivation and cake adsorption (3.6 log/day).

Conclusions:

  • SMBRs are highly efficient for treating virus-bearing wastewater.
  • The cake/gel layer plays a critical role in virus removal for larger pore membranes (0.22 μm).
  • The intrinsic membrane filtration is the primary mechanism for smaller pore membranes (0.1 μm).
Keywords:
Phage T4Phage removalRemoval mechanismSubmerged membrane bioreactor (SMBR)Wastewater treatment

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