A novel gravity driven membrane biofilm bioreactor for advanced water treatment has been developed. The concept for the gravity-driven BF-MBR system is shown in Figure 1. The pressure head of 50 cm is designed to avoid the energy requirements for suction pumps. The present research aims to a better understanding of the biofilm development. Application of confocal scanning microscopy (CLSM), optical coherence tomography (OCT) and other techniques and methods for visualization of fouling layer architecture and its role on possible flux stabilization is being investigated. CLSM studies have been conducted to understand the structure of the biofouling layer and to determine biocake properties such as porosity, thickness, biomass etc. A drawback of CLSM is that it is a destructive technique where membrane samples need to removed and prepared for the analysis. Furthermore, the information gained is very much dependent on the choice of staining techniques used and what they actually represent. OCT is currently being investigated as a non-invasive real-time alternative to assess the biocake properties. The 3D visualization and imaging enables a clear view of the biofilm distribution allowing an easier measurement of the key properties such as biofilm porosity and average thickness which can then be related to the permeate flow and hydraulic resistance formed by the biofouling structure. The data collected from the OCT analysis show the biofouling behavior under operation and can be collected as time series to show the evolution as function of the system operating conditions. References Wagner, M. et al. (2010). Biotechnol. Bioeng. 107, 844–853. Derlon, N. Et al. (2012). Water Res. 46, 3323–3333.

Non-invasive real-time biofouling monitoring in a gravity-driven biofilm MBR system for wastewater treatment

251st National Meeting (2016)

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