Recommendation on the selection of powdered activated carbon as carrier to enhance performance of polymeric UF membrane

The addition of powdered activated carbon (PAC) has been widely accepted as a solution to alleviate membrane fouling and maintain a sustainable flux in membrane bioreactor (MBR) and anaerobic membrane bioreactor (AnMBR). This is due to PAC's unique characteristics, such as serving as a supporti...

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Veröffentlicht in:Journal of membrane science 2025-01, Vol.713, p.123226, Article 123226
Hauptverfasser: Seo, Yountae, Pooi, Ching Kwek, Ng, How Yong
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Sprache:eng
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Zusammenfassung:The addition of powdered activated carbon (PAC) has been widely accepted as a solution to alleviate membrane fouling and maintain a sustainable flux in membrane bioreactor (MBR) and anaerobic membrane bioreactor (AnMBR). This is due to PAC's unique characteristics, such as serving as a supportive medium for bacterial attachment and growth, achieving adsorption of organic foulants and providing abrasion effect that minimizes the formation of cake layers on membrane surfaces. While majority of ultrafiltration (UF) membranes used in MBR and AnMBR application are polymeric, no study has yet investigated the integrity of polymeric UF membranes with the addition of PAC adsorbents. The abrasive effects of PAC on membrane surfaces under gas sparging in AnMBR or air scouring in MBR have not been studied, and no guidelines have been established for selecting a reliable PAC for such purposes. To address these concerns, this study systemically investigated the integrity of polymeric UF membranes with five different types of PACs to establish recommendations for PAC selection. Based on the integrity testing of polymeric UF membranes, a recommendation for PAC selection was formulated, highlighting bulk density and Gold Number (GN) as pivotal criteria. Five distinct types of PACs were studied to determine the optimal characteristics for polymeric UF membranes, considering variations in raw materials (coal-based and wood-based), activation methods (chemical and steam), particle morphology (sharp and granular), bulk densities (ranging from 0.23 to 0.6 kg/L) and GNs (spanning from 0.1 to > 6.0). The investigation extended beyond 100 d or until irreversible defects were observed in the UF membranes. This study provides guidelines for selecting PACs to be used with polymeric UF membranes, aiming to improve membrane performance while minimising their impact on membrane surfaces. [Display omitted] •Bulk density (kg/L) and Gold Number (GN) are key characteristics on PAC selection.•Abrasion of polymeric UF membrane depends on raw material and activation method of PAC.•Coal-based & steam-activated PAC to be ≤ 0.35 kg/L and ≤ GN 6.0, regardless of MLSS.•Wood-based & chemical-activated PAC to be ≤ 0.35 kg/L and ≤ GN 1.0 with MLSS.•Wood-based & chemical-activated PAC to be ≤ 0.35 kg/L and ≤ GN 0.1 without MLSS.
ISSN:0376-7388
DOI:10.1016/j.memsci.2024.123226