Performance and mechanism of microbial fuel cell coupled with anaerobic membrane bioreactor system for fouling control

Yanqing Liu; Jingran Zhang; Xian Cao; Takashi Sakamaki; Xianning Li

doi:10.1016/j.biortech.2023.128760

Performance and mechanism of microbial fuel cell coupled with anaerobic membrane bioreactor system for fouling control

Bioresour Technol. 2023 Apr:374:128760. doi: 10.1016/j.biortech.2023.128760. Epub 2023 Feb 18.

Authors

Yanqing Liu¹, Jingran Zhang¹, Xian Cao², Takashi Sakamaki³, Xianning Li⁴

Affiliations

¹ College of Energy and Environment, Southeast University, Nanjing, Jiangsu 210096, PR China.
² College of Energy and Environment, Southeast University, Nanjing, Jiangsu 210096, PR China; Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Graduate School of Engineering, Tohoku University, Sendai 980-8579, Japan.
³ Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Graduate School of Engineering, Tohoku University, Sendai 980-8579, Japan.
⁴ College of Energy and Environment, Southeast University, Nanjing, Jiangsu 210096, PR China. Electronic address: lixianning@seu.edu.cn.

PMID: 36804586
DOI: 10.1016/j.biortech.2023.128760

Abstract

To remove membrane fouling, a bio-electrochemical system that can generate a micro-electric field and micro-current was constructed. After 11 days of operation, the trans-membrane pressure difference of membrane modules in the open- and closed-circuit groups increased by 35.8 kPa and 6.2 kPa, respectively. The concentrations of total polysaccharide and protein in the open-circuit group were 1.8 and 1.1 times higher than those in the closed-circuit group, respectively. In addition, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and thermogravimetric analysis showed that inorganic crystals such as calcium carbonate were present on the membrane surface, and the concentration of calcium ion in the control group was 14.7 times that of the experimental group. High-throughput sequencing demonstrated that the enrichment of some electroactive bacteria and other microorganisms has a positive effect on the control of membrane fouling. Therefore, this system can effectively alleviate membrane fouling of a bioreactor, by targeting the membrane foulants.

Keywords: Alleviate; Foulants; Membrane fouling; Micro-current; Micro-electric field.

MeSH terms

Anaerobiosis
Bioelectric Energy Sources*
Bioreactors / microbiology
Membranes, Artificial
Sewage
Wastewater*

Substances

Wastewater
Sewage
Membranes, Artificial