Membrane fouling and long-term performance of seawater-driven forward osmosis for enrichment of nutrients in treated municipal wastewater

Forward Osmosis (FO) has been designed and studied for various applications due to the advantages it offers when compared to traditional pressure-driven membrane processes. In our previous study, seawater-driven forward osmosis was successfully applied to concentrate nutrients in treated municipal wastewater. In this study, the long-term operational stability and performance of the seawater-driven FO process was investigated by a 2-month continuous operation of bench-top FO reactors. Nitrification inhibition was recommended to maintain the concentration performance of nitrogen by preventing ammonia from being oxidized by microorganisms. With nitrification inhibition, concentration performances of 3- to 4-fold of total phosphorus and 2.1-fold of ammonia were stably achieved at a feed volume reduction of 75%. Membrane fouling, with the active layer of the FO membrane facing the feed solution, had only a mild impact; there was approximately 5% water flux reduction but no significant effect on nutrient enrichment performance. The analytical results by FTIR and SEM-XMA suggested that bio-fouling with a combined structure of bacterial clusters, biopolymers, and slight inorganic scales was the main FO membrane fouling pattern. Furthermore, pre-disinfection performed in feed solution effectively retarded the occurrence of membrane fouling in the FO process.

[1]  Tong Zhan,et al.  Flux patterns and membrane fouling propensity during desalination of seawater by forward osmosis. , 2012, Water research.

[2]  Amy E. Childress,et al.  The forward osmosis membrane bioreactor: A low fouling alternative to MBR processes , 2009 .

[3]  Menachem Elimelech,et al.  Chemical and physical aspects of cleaning of organic-fouled reverse osmosis membranes , 2006 .

[4]  Amy E. Childress,et al.  Forward osmosis: Principles, applications, and recent developments , 2006 .

[5]  Chuyang Y. Tang,et al.  Study of integration of forward osmosis and biological process: Membrane performance under elevated salt environment , 2011 .

[6]  Anthony G Fane,et al.  Direct microscopic observation of forward osmosis membrane fouling. , 2010, Environmental science & technology.

[7]  Robert L McGinnis,et al.  Desalination by ammonia–carbon dioxide forward osmosis: Influence of draw and feed solution concentrations on process performance , 2006 .

[8]  Menachem Elimelech,et al.  A novel ammonia-carbon dioxide forward (direct) osmosis desalination process , 2005 .

[9]  Y. Seo,et al.  Impact of chlorine disinfection on redistribution of cell clusters from biofilms. , 2013, Environmental science & technology.

[10]  Chuyang Y. Tang,et al.  Mining nutrients (N, K, P) from urban source-separated urine by forward osmosis dewatering. , 2014, Environmental science & technology.

[11]  P. Rupérez,et al.  FTIR-ATR spectroscopy as a tool for polysaccharide identification in edible brown and red seaweeds , 2011 .

[12]  Menachem Elimelech,et al.  Chemical and physical aspects of organic fouling of forward osmosis membranes , 2008 .

[13]  Navin K. Rastogi,et al.  Forward osmosis for the concentration of anthocyanin from Garcinia indica Choisy , 2010 .

[14]  Michael Flynn,et al.  Membrane contactor processes for wastewater reclamation in space Part I. Direct osmotic concentration as pretreatment for reverse osmosis , 2005 .

[15]  Heber,et al.  Short-term methods for estimating the chronic toxicity of effluents and receiving water to marine and estuarine organisms. Second edition , 1994 .

[16]  M. Vieira,et al.  A review of current and emergent biofilm control strategies , 2010 .

[17]  M. Elimelech,et al.  The Future of Seawater Desalination: Energy, Technology, and the Environment , 2011, Science.

[18]  E. Drioli,et al.  Recent advances on membrane processes for the concentration of fruit juices: a review , 2004 .

[19]  J. Block,et al.  Drinking water biofilm cohesiveness changes under chlorination or hydrodynamic stress. , 2014, Water research.

[20]  Chuyang Y. Tang,et al.  Performance of a submerged anaerobic membrane bioreactor with forward osmosis membrane for low-strength wastewater treatment. , 2014, Water research.

[21]  Chuyang Y. Tang,et al.  Coupled effects of internal concentration polarization and fouling on flux behavior of forward osmosis membranes during humic acid filtration , 2010 .

[22]  Linda Zou,et al.  Recent developments in forward osmosis : opportunities and challenges. , 2012 .

[23]  M. Elimelech,et al.  Organic fouling of forward osmosis membranes: Fouling reversibility and cleaning without chemical reagents , 2010 .

[24]  Gary L. Amy,et al.  NOM and TEP fouling of a forward osmosis (FO) membrane: Foulant identification and cleaning , 2012 .

[25]  Tzahi Y. Cath,et al.  Membrane contactor processes for wastewater reclamation in space: II. Combined direct osmosis, osmotic distillation, and membrane distillation for treatment of metabolic wastewater , 2005 .

[26]  Kazuo Yamamoto,et al.  Seawater-driven forward osmosis for enriching nitrogen and phosphorous in treated municipal wastewater: effect of membrane properties and feed solution chemistry. , 2015, Water research.

[27]  S. S. Madaeni,et al.  CHEMICAL CLEANING OF REVERSE OSMOSIS MEMBRANE FOULED BY WASTEWATER , 2010 .

[28]  C. Gruden,et al.  Multiple roles of extracellular polymeric substances on resistance of biofilm and detached clusters. , 2012, Environmental science & technology.

[29]  Bernhard Meyer,et al.  APPROACHES TO PREVENTION, REMOVAL AND KILLING OF BIOFILMS , 2003 .

[30]  D.J.H. Harmsen,et al.  Membrane fouling and process performance of forward osmosis membranes on activated sludge , 2008 .

[31]  Tzahi Y Cath,et al.  Forward osmosis for concentration of anaerobic digester centrate. , 2007, Water research.

[32]  R. Kasher,et al.  Effect of surface-exposed chemical groups on calcium-phosphate mineralization in water-treatment systems. , 2010, Environmental science & technology.

[33]  Sherub Phuntsho,et al.  Blended fertilizers as draw solutions for fertilizer-drawn forward osmosis desalination. , 2012, Environmental science & technology.

[34]  Menachem Elimelech,et al.  Comparison of fouling behavior in forward osmosis (FO) and reverse osmosis (RO) , 2010 .

[35]  Shuren Chou,et al.  Membrane biofouling and scaling in forward osmosis membrane bioreactor , 2012 .

[36]  Menachem Elimelech,et al.  Global challenges in energy and water supply: the promise of engineered osmosis. , 2008, Environmental science & technology.

[37]  Christopher Bellona,et al.  Effect of membrane fouling on transport of organic contaminants in NF/RO membrane applications , 2006 .

[38]  B. Ratner,et al.  Bioinspired implant materials befuddle bacteria , 2004 .