The sensitivity of fixed-bed biological perchlorate removal to changes in operating conditions and water quality characteristics

Flow rate, electron donor addition, and biomass control were evaluated in order to optimize perchlorate (ClO₄⁻) removal from drinking water using biologically active carbon (BAC) filtration. Influent dissolved oxygen (DO) was lowered from ambient conditions to approximately 2.5 mg/L for all experiments using a nitrogen sparge. When influent nitrate concentration was 0-2.0 mg/L, 1.6-2.8 mg/L as carbon of acetate or ethanol was required to achieve and sustain the complete removal of 50 μg/L perchlorate in a BAC filter. Most or all of the exogenous acetate and ethanol was removed during biofiltration. When a 72-h electron donor feed failure was simulated, a maximum perchlorate breakthrough of 18 μg/L was observed and, once electron donor was reapplied, 9 days were required to reestablish complete perchlorate removal. During a 24-h electron donor feed failure simulation, the maximum effluent perchlorate concentration detected was 6.7 μg/L. Within 24 h of reactivating the electron donor, the filter regained its capacity to consistently remove 50 μg/L perchlorate to below detection. Although biomass growth diminished the filter's ability to consistently remove perchlorate, a cleaning procedure immediately restored stable, complete perchlorate removal. This cleaning procedure was required approximately every 50 days (4800 bed volumes) when influent DO concentration was 2.5 mg/L. Empty-bed contact time (EBCT) experiments showed that 80% perchlorate removal was achieved using a 5-min EBCT, and complete perchlorate removal was observed for an EBCT of 9 min. It was also demonstrated that BAC filtration consistently removed perchlorate to below detection for influent perchlorate concentrations ranging from 10 to 300 μg/L, influent sulfate concentrations between 0 and 220 mg/L, influent pH values of 6.5-9.0, and operating temperatures of 5-22°C.     

混凝沉淀/MBR组合工艺中膜污染清洗方法的研究

针对混凝沉淀预处理/膜生物反应器组合工艺,采用能谱分析和傅里叶红外光谱对膜表面的污染物进行分析,并对不同清洗剂的清洗效果进行了探讨。结果表明,酸性清洗剂对膜的清洗效果较好,膜表面的无机污染物基本被去除,但不能完全有效地去除膜表面的有机污染物;NaOH和NaClO的清洗效果不佳。从酸碱交替清洗效果来看,先酸洗后碱洗过程的膜恢复率比先碱洗后酸洗过程的高8%。对膜污染过程进行推测,胞外聚合物(EPS)和残留的絮凝颗粒一并沉积并吸附在膜表面,形成以有机物为主体、粘结性很强的凝胶层(内层);在混凝沉淀预处理长期运行条件下,凝胶层由内向外又不断吸附了无机盐类物质,凝胶层(外层)逐渐过渡为以无机污染为主,期间还存在无机物和有机物的络合,导致单纯采用碱和氧化剂的清洗效果不佳。     

Surface modification of polypropylene macroporous membrane to improve its antifouling characteristics in a submerged membrane-bioreactor: H(2)O plasma treatment

To improve the antifouling characteristics of polypropylene hollow fiber macroporous membranes in a submerged membrane-bioreactor for wastewater treatment, the membranes were surface modified by H₂O plasma treatment. Structural and morphological changes on the membrane surface were characterized by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM). The change of surface wettability was monitored by contact angle measurement. The static water contact angle of the modified membrane reduced obviously with the increase of plasma treatment time. The total surface free energy and its dispersive component decreased, while the polar component increased with the increase of treatment time. The relative pure water flux for the modified membranes increased gradually with the increase of plasma treatment time. The tensile strength and the tensile elongation at break for the membranes decreased after plasma treatment. After continuous operation in a submerged membrane-bioreactor for about 68 h, flux recovery after water and caustic cleaning, flux ratio after fouling were improved by 2.0, 3.6 and 22.0%, while reduction of flux was reduced by 1.1% for the 1 min H₂O plasma treated membrane, compared to those of the unmodified membrane.     

Surface modification of polypropylene microporous membrane to improve its antifouling characteristics in an SMBR: N2 plasma treatment

Fouling is the major obstacle in membrane processes applied in water and wastewater treatment. The polypropylene hollow fiber microporous membranes (PPHFMMs) were surface modified by N₂ low-temperature plasma treatment to improve the antifouling characteristics. Morphological changes on the membrane surface were characterized by field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM). The change of surface wettability was monitored by contact angle measurements. The static water contact angle of the modified membrane reduced obviously; the relative pure water flux of the modified membranes increased with the increase of plasma treatment time. To assess the relation between plasma treatment and membrane fouling in a submerged membrane bioreactor (SMBR), filtration of activated sludge was carried out by using synthetic wastewater. After continuous operation in the SMBR for about 90 h, flux recoveries for the N₂ plasma-treated PPHFMM for 8 min were 62.9% and 67.8% higher than those of the virgin membrane after water and NaOH cleaning. The irreversible fouling resistance decreased after plasma treatment.     

Assessing the effects of sodium hypochlorite exposure on the characteristics of PVDF based membranes

Sodium hypochlorite is commonly used as a cleaning agent to remove adsorbed foulants from PVDF based micro/ultra filtration membranes in water and wastewater treatment applications. Although effective for fouling control, extended sodium hypochlorite exposure can affect the physical/chemical characteristics and hinder the treatment performance of these membranes. To assess these effects, PVDF based membranes were exposed to sodium hypochlorite at different concentrations for varying periods of time, and the physical/chemical characteristics of the virgin and sodium hypochlorite exposed membranes were compared. The membranes were characterized based on chemical composition (FTIR and NMR), mechanical strength (yield strength), surface hydrophilicity (contact angle), pore size and porosity (scanning electron microscopy and challenge test), and membrane resistance (clean water permeation test). The results indicated that exposure dose and concentration of the sodium hypochlorite used have significant influence on the membrane characteristics. The impact of sodium hypochlorite exposure on the parameters investigated could be most accurately and consistently correlated to an exposure dose relationship of the form Cⁿt (where, C = concentration and t = exposure time) rather than the Ct relationship commonly used to define the extent of exposure to cleaning agents. For all the parameters investigated, the power coefficient n was less than 1 indicating that time had a greater impact on the changes than did the concentration of the sodium hypochlorite. The results suggest that the use of sodium hypochlorite for chemical cleaning, at concentrations that are higher than those typically used for chemical cleaning would have less of an effect on the characteristics of the membrane materials. Changes in the characteristics were attributed to the oxidation of the hydrophilic additives (HA) present in blended PVDF membranes.     

Pilot-scale investigation on the removal of organic foulants in secondary effluent by slow sand filtration prior to ultrafiltration

Natural biofiltration processes have been verified as effective pre-treatment choice improving the performance of low-pressure membranes (MF/UF) in wastewater reclamation. In the present work, pilot-scale slow sand filtration (SSF) was used to simulate bank filtration at high filtration rates (from 0.25 m/h to 0.5 m/h) to filter secondary effluent prior to UF. The results showed that SSF improved the performance of UF to a large extent. Related to previous work biopolymers are considered as major dissolved organic foulants in treated wastewater. The removal of these organic foulants in slow sand filters and factors affecting the performance of SSF were investigated. It was observed that the removal of biopolymers took place mainly at the upper sand layer and was related to biological degradation. Tests on the degradability of biopolymers verified that they are biodegradable. Sixteen months monitoring of biopolymer concentration in the secondary effluent indicated that it varied seasonally. In winter season the concentration was much higher than during the summer months. Higher temperature and lower biopolymer concentration led to more effective foulants removal and more sustainable operation of SSF. During the whole experimental period, the performance of SSF was always better at filtration rate of 0.25 m/h than at 0.5 m/h. Under the present experimental conditions, SSF exhibited stable and effective biopolymer removal at temperatures higher than 15 °C, at biopolymer concentrations lower than 0.5 mg C/L and with sufficient oxygen available.     

A novel control method for nitritation: The domination of ammonia-oxidizing bacteria by high concentrations of inorganic carbon in an airlift-fluidized bed reactor

A novel nitritation method based on the addition of inorganic carbon (IC) was verified using an airlift-fluidized bed reactor packed with sponge cubes. A continuous-treatment experiment demonstrated that the type of nitrification—nitrite or nitrate accumulation—could be controlled by the addition of different alkalinity sources (NaHCO₃ or NaOH, respectively). The maximum rate of ammonia oxidation at 30 °C was 2.47 kg-N/(m³ d), with nitrate formation of less than 0.5% of the converted ammonia. Nitrite accumulation of over 90% was maintained stably over 250 days at 30 °C and was achieved even at 19 °C. Qualitative and quantitative shifts of nitrifying bacteria in the biofilm were monitored by real-time PCR and T-RFLP analysis. Ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB) were dominant but nitrite-oxidizing bacteria (NOB) were eliminated in the reactor when NaHCO₃ was used as the alkalinity source. From the kinetic data, we inferred that high IC concentrations drive stable nitritation by promoting a higher growth rate for AOB than for NOB.     

Application of ceramic membranes with pre-ozonation for treatment of secondary wastewater effluent

Membrane fouling is an inevitable problem when microfiltration (MF) and ultrafiltraion (UF) are used to treat wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) effluent. While historically the use of MF/UF for water and wastewater treatment has been almost exclusively focused on polymeric membranes, new generation ceramic membranes were recently introduced in the market and they possess unique advantages over currently available polymeric membranes. Ceramic membranes are mechanically superior and are more resistant to severe chemical and thermal environments. Due to the robustness of ceramic membranes, strong oxidants such as ozone can be used as pretreatment to reduce the membrane fouling. This paper presents results of a pilot study designed to investigate the application of new generation ceramic membranes for WWTP effluent treatment. Ozonation and coagulation pretreatment were evaluated to optimize the membrane operation. The ceramic membrane demonstrated stable performance at a filtration flux of 100 gfd (170 LMH) at 20 °C with pretreatment using PACl (1 mg/L as Al) and ozone (4 mg/L). To understand the effects of ozone and coagulation pretreatment on organic foulants, natural organic matter (NOM) in four waters - raw, ozone treated, coagulation treated, and ozone followed by coagulation treated wastewaters - were characterized using high performance size exclusion chromatography (HPSEC). The HPSEC analysis demonstrated that ozone treatment is effective at degrading colloidal NOMs which are likely responsible for the majority of membrane fouling.     

Enhancing anaerobic digestibility and phosphorus recovery of dairy manure through microwave-based thermochemical pretreatment

Anaerobic digestion and struvite precipitation are two effective ways of treating dairy manure for recovering biogas and phosphorus. Anaerobic digestion of dairy manure is commonly limited by slow fiber degradation, while struvite precipitation is limited by the availability of orthophosphate. The aim of this work is to study the possibility of using microwave-based thermochemical pretreatment to simultaneously enhance manure anaerobic digestibility (through fiber degradation) and struvite precipitation (through phosphorus solubilization). Microwave heating combined with different chemicals (NaOH, CaO, H₂SO₄, or HCl) enhanced solubilization of manure and degradation of glucan/xylan in dairy manure. However, sulfuric acid-based pretreatment resulted in a low anaerobic digestibility, probably due to the sulfur inhibition and Maillard side reaction. The pretreatments released 20-40% soluble phosphorus and 9-14% ammonium. However, CaO-based pretreatment resulted in lower orthophosphate releases and struvite precipitation efficiency as calcium interferes with phosphate to form calcium phosphate. Collectively, microwave heating combined with NaOH or HCl led to a high anaerobic digestibility and phosphorus recovery. Using these two chemicals, the performance of microwave- and conventional-heating in thermochemical pretreatment was further compared. The microwave heating resulted in a better performance in terms of COD solubilization, glucan/xylan reduction, phosphorus solubilization and anaerobic digestibility. Lastly, temperature and heating time used in microwave treatment were optimized. The optimal values of temperature and heating time were 147 °C and 25.3 min for methane production, and 135 °C and 26 min for orthophosphate release, respectively.     

Treatment of municipal solid waste leachate using a submerged anaerobic membrane bioreactor at mesophilic and psychrophilic temperatures: Analysis of recalcitrants in the permeate using GC-MS

This study investigated the performance of two submerged anaerobic membrane bioreactors (SAMBRs) operating at a mean solids residence time (SRT) of 30 (SAMBR30) and 300 days (SAMBR300) at mesophilic and psychrophilic temperatures. At 35 °C results showed that SAMBR30 and 300 could achieve 95% soluble chemical oxygen demand (SCOD) removal at 1.5 and 1.1 days HRT, respectively, whereas at 20 °C only SAMBR300 could maintain the same performance. Low temperatures were associated with higher bulk SCOD concentrations, which contributed to reducing the flux, but this was partly reversible once the SCOD was degraded. The utilization rate of compounds was affected differently by the drop in temperature with the concentration of some recalcitrants increasing, while for others such as bisphenol A it decreased when the temperature was decreased. Among the recalcitrants detected in SAMBR30 at 20 °C there were not only long chain fatty acids such as undecanoic acid and dodecanoic acid, but also long chain alkanes such as tetracosane and heneicosane that could not be hydrolyzed at 20 °C. In SAMBR300 these alkanes and acids only appeared at 10 °C, whereas at 20 °C complex compounds such as phenol, 2-chloro-4-(1,1-dimethylethyl), 6-tert-butyl-2,4-dimethylphenol, benzophenone, and n-butyl benzenesulfonamide were found.     

Chemical extraction of arsenic from contaminated soil under subcritical conditions

In this research, we investigated a chemical extraction process, under subcritical conditions, for arsenic (As)-contaminated soil in the vicinity of an abandoned smelting plant in South Korea. The total concentration of As in soil was 75.5 mg/kg, 68% of which was As(+ III). X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analysis showed that the possible As(+ III)-bearing compounds in the soil were As₂O₃ and R-AsOOH. At 20 °C, 100 mM of NaOH could extract 26% of the As from the soil samples. In contrast, 100 mM of ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) and citric acid showed less than 10% extraction efficiency. However, as the temperature increased to 250 and 300 °C, extraction efficiencies increased to 75-91% and 94-103%, respectively, regardless of the extraction reagent used. Control experiments with subcritical water at 300 °C showed complete extraction of As from the soil. Arsenic species in the solution extracted at 300 °C indicated that subcritical water oxidation may be involved in the dissolution of As(+ III)-bearing minerals under given conditions. Our results suggest that subcritical water extraction/oxidation is a promising option for effective disposal of As-contaminated soil.     

The use of microemulsions to remove chromium from industrial sludge

In this work microemulsion systems were used to remove chromium from leather tannery sediments. The sludge was treated by a solid-liquid extraction process (acid digestion). The effects of particle size, digestion temperature and digestion time with regards to the efficiency of chromium removal were considered. The raw sludge (3 Mesh) was dried, grounded and sieved. Particles with 3, 14, 65, 100, 200, and 325 Mesh were evaluated. Sludge digestion solutions were prepared using each studied granule size at 25 °C, 70 °C, and 95 °C. Microemulsion extraction experiments to remove chromium III from the acid digestion solution were made according to a Scheffé Net experimental design methodology, using microemulsion systems inside the Winsor II region (System I) and inside the microemulsion region (Winsor IV - System II). A statistical treatment was used to obtain the isoresponse plots. Chromium extraction percentages were up to 73.3% for System I and up to 93.4% for System II.     

MBR、MCR处理微污染水的膜污染比较

膜污染是影响膜反应器稳定运行的重要原因之一，为此考察了膜生物反应器(MBR)和膜混凝反应器(MCR)处理微污染地表水时的运行状况，并对膜比通量的变化进行了比较，发现MBR的膜污染情况比MCR的严重。MCR和MBR的膜组件经物理、化学清洗后膜比通量分别恢复至新膜比通量的99．7％和76．9％，物理清洗对此的贡献较大。经分析发现，MCR中无机污染占优势，主要污染元素是Fe；MBR中微生物和有机物是膜污染的主要组成，而无机污染物则主要是铁盐和磷酸盐。     

Chemical sulfate attack performance of partially exposed cement and cement + fly ash paste

When concrete elements are partially exposed to sulfate rich environment, the upper part of concrete in contact with air will be deteriorated more severely than the underground part. Fly ash additions seem to accelerate the collapse of concrete in such an environment. Although concrete technologists attribute concrete damage mainly to salt crystallization or physical sulfate attack, the influence of chemical sulfate attack cannot be neglected and should also be studied.The objective of this paper is twofold. First, pore solution expression test was conducted to squeeze pore solution of different parts of cement paste partially exposed to Na₂SO₄ solution. The sulfate concentration and pH value of pore solution were measured. Results showed that the sulfate concentration of the pore solution in the upper part of paste in contact with air was much higher than in the lower submerged part. Fly ash additions could draw more sulfates into the paste in a shorter time, forming a higher concentration sulfate pore solution than in normal concrete.The second test was designed to simulate the effect of severe exposure condition on reactive products of cement paste. Pure cement and cement + fly ash (25% dosage) pastes were immersed in 5%, 15% and 30% at 30 °C and 15% at 40 °C Na₂SO₄ solutions. Thermogravimetric analysis was used to analyze the reaction products of the paste. The results indicate that more ettringite and gypsum were formed in cement + fly ash paste than pure cement paste.     

Salt cleaning of organic-fouled reverse osmosis membranes

Cleaning of organic-fouled reverse osmosis membranes with concentrated salt solutions has been investigated. Polysaccharides (alginate and pectin) and Suwannee River natural organic matter were used as model organic foulants. By systematically varying the chemical and physical factors affecting salt cleaning efficiency, we were able to elucidate the processes and mechanisms involved during salt cleaning. Chemical factors investigated included salt dose, salt type, and organic foulant composition, while physical factors included cleaning contact time, crossflow velocity, cleaning solution temperature, and permeation rate. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) was utilized to quantify the reduction in intermolecular foulant-foulant adhesion upon salt cleaning. Our results showed that salt cleaning was quite effective in cleaning reverse osmosis membranes fouled by gel-forming hydrophilic organic foulants, such as alginate and pectin. The proposed mechanism for salt cleaning involves structural changes of the cross-linked gel layer on the membrane surface upon exposure to the salt solution followed by an ion exchange reaction that induces the breakup of calcium-foulant bonds as well as calcium bridging (cross-linking) between foulant molecules. The results obtained from AFM force measurements as well as foulant release experiments confirmed that these chemical reactions were the major mechanisms of salt cleaning. Salt cleaning appears to be an effective cleaning method, and may prove useful for membrane-based advanced wastewater reclamation, where a large fraction of the organic foulants is hydrophilic.     

Flux patterns and membrane fouling propensity during desalination of seawater by forward osmosis

The membrane fouling propensity of natural seawater during forward osmosis was studied. Seawater from the Red Sea was used as the feed in a forward osmosis process while a 2 M sodium chloride solution was used as the draw solution. The process was conducted in a semi-batch mode under two crossflow velocities, 16.7 cm/s and 4.2 cm/s. For the first time reported, silica scaling was found to be the dominant inorganic fouling (scaling) on the surface of membrane active layer during seawater forward osmosis. Polymerization of dissolved silica was the major mechanism for the formation of silica scaling. After ten batches of seawater forward osmosis, the membrane surface was covered by a fouling layer of assorted polymerized silica clusters and natural organic matter, especially biopolymers. Moreover, the absorbed biopolymers also provided bacterial attachment sites. The accumulated organic fouling could be partially removed by water flushing while the polymerized silica was difficult to remove. The rate of flux decline was about 53% with a crossflow velocity of 16.7 cm/s while reaching more than 70% with a crossflow velocity of 4.2 cm/s. Both concentration polarization and fouling played roles in the decrease of flux. The salt rejection was stable at about 98% during seawater forward osmosis. In addition, an almost complete rejection of natural organic matter was attained. The results from this study are valuable for the design and development of a successful protocol for a pretreatment process before seawater forward osmosis and a cleaning method for fouled membranes.     

Characterization of a ceramic ultrafiltration membrane in different operational states after its use in a heavy-metal ion removal process

In the present study, the atomic force microscopy (AFM) technique has been used to characterize a Carbosep M5 ceramic membrane (MWCO = 10 kDa, TiO₂-ZrO₂ active layer). This membrane was previously used in a polymer supported ultrafiltration (PSU) process to recover copper, using partially ethoxylated polyethylenimine as the water-soluble polymer. The membrane was characterized in four different operational states: new, new and cleaned, fouled in a PSU stage and cleaned after a PSU process. The influence of the membrane state on pore opening size distribution and roughness was studied, finding a 16% decrease in the former and a 20% increase in the latter due to foulant deposition upon the membrane active layer. Phase angle distribution was also analyzed to indicate the foulant spreading on the membrane surface. These phase angle measurements can be related to pore opening size and roughness, concluding that the cleaning procedure is not totally effective and that foulant presence on the membrane active layer is not remarkable. Finally, AFM was used to measure the influence of pH on adhesion forces between a silica probe and the membrane active layer. These results can be related to the flux evolution vs pH in PSU experiments, finding both lowest adhesion and highest flux at pH 6.     

Effects of scarf joints on bending strength and modulus of elasticity to laminated veneer lumber (LVL)

The role of geometry on the mechanical performance of scarf joints in laminated veneer lumber (LVL) bonded with phenol formaldehyde and melamine formaldehyde (MF) adhesives was investigated. Model joints consists of 3, 4 and 5 mm veneer thicknesses at 30°, 45° and 60° of varying scarf joints for LVL produced from brutia pine (Pinus brutia Ten) and elm (Ulmus compestris l.) woods. However, there is little information available concerning the bending strength and modulus of elasticity for LVL, and in particular, scarf joints in these field. In this study, it was aimed to determine the bending strength and modulus of elasticity for LVL. For this purpose, samples were tested according to TS EN 310 standard. It was observed that the highest bending strength (291.5 N/mm²) and modulus of elasticity (28 101 N/mm²) were obtained in control (solid wood) samples having three layered LVL, jointed with 30° angle and bonded with MF adhesive. As a result of the effects scarf joints on bending strength and modulus elasticity test, if the scarf angle decreases, the properties of LVL increase.     

Vapor adsorption characteristics of toluene in an activated carbon adsorbent-loaded nonwoven fabric media for chemical filters applied to cleanrooms

Chemical filters are used extensively in the cleanrooms of the semiconductor factories to remove airborne molecular contamination (AMC). Adsorption by activated carbons (AC) as media within the chemical filter is one of the practical methods for removal of gaseous contamination in a cleanroom. The objective of this study is to evaluate coconut shell activated carbon adsorbent-loaded nonwoven fabric media performance by determining the breakthrough curves, the linear driving force (LDF), the intra-particle diffusion characteristics, the empty bed contact time (EBCT) and the bed depth service time (BDST), the mass-transfer zone (MTZ), and pressure drop. The testing conditions were maintained at 28 ± 1 °C, and relative humidity at 40 ± 2% with face velocities of 0.076, 0.114 and 0.152 m/s for removal efficiency and capacity determination. The challenge gas concentrations of toluene were fixed at 10, 31, 42 and 70 ppm to accelerate the breakthrough of media adsorption. The concentrations were measured by a real-time photoionization detector. Results showed that breakthrough curves correlate to the challenge vapor concentration and the face velocity. Saturated adsorption ratio was increased with raised challenge gas concentration and increased face velocity significantly.     

Saline sewage treatment using a submerged anaerobic membrane reactor (SAMBR): Effects of activated carbon addition and biogas-sparging time

This study investigated the performance of a submerged anaerobic membrane reactor (SAMBR) treating saline sewage under fluctuating concentrations of salinity (0-35 g NaCl/L), at 8 and 20 h HRT, with fluxes ranging from 5-8 litres per square metre per hour (LMH). The SAMBRs attained a 99% removal of Dissolved Organic Carbon (DOC) with 35 g NaCl/L, while removal inside the reactor was significantly lower (40-60% DOC). Even with a sudden drop in salinity overall removal recovered quickly, while the recovery inside the reactor took place at a slower rate. This highlights the positive effect of the membrane in preventing the presence of high molecular weight organics in the effluent while also retaining biomass inside the reactor so that they can rapidly acclimatize to salinity. The reduction of continuous biogas sparging to intervals of 10 min ON and 5 min OFF resulted in a slight increase in transmembrane pressure (TMP) by 0.025 bar, but also resulted in an increase in effluent DOC removal and inside the SAMBR by 10% and 20%, respectively. The addition of powdered activated carbon (PAC) resulted in a decrease in the TMP by 0.070 bar, and an increase in DOC removal in the reactor and effluent by 30% and 5%, respectively. The PAC dramatically decreased the high molecular weight organics in the reactor over a period of 72 h. SEM pictures of the membrane and biomass before and after addition of PAC revealed a remarkable reduction of flocks on the membrane surface, and a reduction inside the reactor of soluble microbial products (SMPs). Finally, Energy Dispersive X-ray (EDX) analysis of the membranes pores and biofilm highlighted the absence of organic matter in the inner pores of the membrane.