Enhancement of Membrane Fouling Control in Hybrid Aerobic Membrane Bioreactor System for Domestic Waste Water Application: Effect of Alum Concentration☆

Abstract Additional of alum into the membrane bioreactor was found to be able to enhance the performance for the separation process. In this study, the influence of different alum concentrations on membrane fouling control and characteristics of activated sludge of membrane bioreactors were evaluated. Membrane bioreactor with low alum concentration of 1.0 g/L was found able to provide better filterability performance compared to MBRs without and with excessive alum addition (3.0 g/L and 5.0 g/L). This study indicates that agglomeration of flocs and biodegradation mechanisms which took place simultaneously in the MBR with 1.0 g/L of alum is able to reduce the total EPS concentration in the MBRs and subsequently contributing to better membrane fouling control.