Performance of Bio-Fouling Reducers in Aerobic Submerged Membrane Bioreactor for Palm Oil Mill Effluent Treatment

Bio-fouling is one of the major challenges of submerged membrane bioreactor operation, which reduces productivity and increases operational/main-tenance cost. Powdered activated carbon, granular activated carbon and fine grained zeolite were used as bio-fouling reducer (BFR) to reduce bio-fouling in membrane and improve effluent qualities. A bench scale aerobic submerged membrane bioreactor (ASMBR) was used to study bio-fouling behavior for palm oil mill effluent (POME) treatment. A 20-liter reactor was set up using a flat sheet microfiltration membrane equipped with continues fine air bubbles for bio-oxidation and membrane scouring. Comparative result on ASMBR with and without BFR adjunction was performed at constant flux and in a defined organic loading. Experiments showed positive changes in trans membrane pressure (TMP), as well as the improvement in effluent qualities. However a jelly-like biofilm layer was the main reason for TMP increasing and bio-fouling