Insights into the membrane biofouling behavior of planktonic anammox bacteria: Effect of solution pH and ionic strength

Understanding the effect of solution pH and ionic strength on membrane biofouling of anammox bacteria is essential for the widespread application of anammox MBRs. To provide an original elucidation, this study combined interfacial thermodynamics analysis and filtration experiments with an established planktonic anammox MBR to explore the biofouling behavior of anammox bacteria under varying solution pH and ionic strengths. Preliminary results showed that variation in solution pH and ionic strength has critical impacts on the thermodynamic properties of planktonic anammox bacteria and membrane surfaces. The further interfacial thermodynamics analysis and filtration experiments indicated that an increased pH and a decreased ionic strength could reduce membrane fouling by planktonic anammox bacteria. More specifically, a higher pH or lower ionic strength resulted in a stronger repulsive energy barrier due to the larger interaction distance covered by the dominant electrostatic double layer (EL) component compared to the Lewis acid-base (AB) and Lifshitz–van der Waals (LW) components, which corresponded to a reduction in the normalized flux (J/J0) decline and the accumulation of cake resistance (Rc) during the filtration process. Furthermore, the aforementioned effect mechanism was verified by a correlation analysis of the thermodynamic properties and filtration behavior. These findings have generalized significance for understanding the biofouling or aggregation behavior of anammox bacteria. [Display omitted] •A planktonic anammox MBR was achieved with stable nitrogen removal performance.•Effect of pH and ionic strength on anammox bacteria biofouling was elucidated.•Stronger repulsive energy barrier resulted from higher pH or lower ionic strength.•Cake resistance was significantly affected by solution pH and ionic strength.•Filtration resistance related to the thermodynamic properties of anammox bacteria.