Chapter 1
Introduction
Withacknowledgementstoinalphabeticalorderbyorganizationandcontributorlastname:
Section Name Organisation
1.2.1 Yiming Zeng Superstring
1.3.2 Ana Santos Cran.eldUniversity
1.4.1.1e2 Paul Jeffrey Cran.eldUniversity
1.4.2.1 Visvanathan Lingamurti Lingam Pillay DurbanUniversityofTechnology
TimYoung MBR Technology.
1.4.2.2 David de Haas GHD Pty Ltd
1.4.2.3 Xia Huang, Yuexiao Shen, Kang Xiao Tsinghua University
1.4.2.4 Sebastian Zacharias Cinzac Group
1.4.2.5 Hiroki Itokawa JapanSewageWorksAgency
1.4.2.6 A. Wahab Mohammad UniversitiKebangsaanMalaysia
1.4.2.7 TaoGuihe,KiranKekre,HarrySeah PUB
1.4.2.8 Christoph Brepols Erftverband
1.4.2.9 VictorFerre KubotaMembraneEurope
Josef Dusini Ladurner Acque
1.4.2.10 Darren Lawrence KochMembraneSystems
1.4.2.11 Daniel Sanchez Hera-AMASA
VictorFerre KubotaMembraneEurope
1.4.2.12 Stephen Kennedy Ovivo
1.4.2.13 Zakir Hirani MWH Americas Inc.
1.5 Ana Santos Cran.eldUniversity
1.1. DEFINITION
Theterm‘membranebioreactor’MBRappliestoallwaterandwastewatertreatmentprocessesintegratingapermselectivemembranewithabiologicalprocess.AllcurrentlyavailablecommercialMBRprocessesemploythemembraneostensiblyasa.lter,rejectingthesolidmaterialsdevelopedbythebiologicalprocesstoprovideaclari.edanddisinfectedproduct.ItisthistypeofMBR,thebiomassrejectionMBRSection1.1,whichformstheprimaryfocusofthisbook.TheprogressoftechnologicaldevelopmentandmarketpenetrationofMBRscanbeviewedinthecontextoftheirhistoricaldevel-opmentSection1.2,currentmarketpenetrationSection1.3,keydrivers
The MBR Book.
Copyright . 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
The MBR Book
Section1.4andthestatusofMBRresearchSection1.5,allimpactingtosomedegreeonthefutureprospectsofthetechnologySection1.6.
1.2. HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE
1.2.1. Membranes and Membrane Technology
Themembraneindustrydidnotexistuntiltheearlytwentiethcentury;themainresearchonmembraneseparationphenomenawasaimedatelucidatingthephysico-chemicalprinciplesoftheprocess,andthemechanismofdiffusion.However,someoftheseearly-stageachievementsstillimpactontheacademicresearchandindustrialapplicationstoday.TheseincludeFick’s1855phenomenologicallawsofdiffusion,van’tHoff’s1887,1888osmoticpres-sureequation,forwhichhewasawardedthe.rstNoblePrizeinChemistryin1901,andThomasGraham’spioneeringworkingasseparationusingbothporousmembranesanddensemembranesisstillrelevanttoday.Grahamdiscoveredthatrubberexhibitsselectivepermeabilitytodifferentgases,andalsofoundlow-molecularweightsubstancestobeconcentratedintheperme-atedgaswhenthemembraneporesizeisclosetothemeanfreepathofgasmoleculesGraham,1861,1866.Graham’sworkwasinspiredbySchmidt’s1856earlierstudy,wherehehadusedbovineheartmembranestheporedimensionbeing1e50nmtoseparatesolubleAcaciaearguablythe.rstdocumentedultra.ltrationUFexperiment.
The.rstsyntheticUFmembraneswerepreparedbyBechholdfromcollodionnitrocellulose.Bechholdwasalsothe.rsttomeasuremembranebubblepoints,andtoproposetheterm‘ultra.lter’Bechhold,1907.Otherimportantearlyresearchers,Elford,Zsigmondy,Bachmann,andFerry,etc.,furtherdevelopedBechhold’smembranepreparationmethod.CommercialapplicationofcollodionporousmembranescanbeattributedtoZsigmondy’slaboratoryattheUniversityofGoettingen,Germany;ZsigmondyandBach-mannwerethe.rsttoproposeamethodtoproduceporouscollodionmembraneinanindustrialscaleZsigmondy&Bachmann,1918,1922.Basedonthistechnology,theworld’s.rstcommercialmicroporousmembranesupplier,SartoriusWerkeGmbH,wasestablishedinGoettingenin1925,althoughitsproductsweremostlysoldtoresearchlaboratories.Theearlyporouscollodionmembraneformationmethodwasnamed‘dryinversion’,whichisstillinusetoday.
DuringWorldWarII,damagetoGermandistributionnetworksbybombingraidsledtothedevelopmentoftechniquesforrapidanalysisforbacteriainwatersupplies.UsingSartoriusmembranes,Mu¨llerandothersatHamburgUniversitydevelopedaneffectivemethodtocultivatemicro-organismsindrinkingwater.Thiswasthe.rstlarge-scaleapplicationofmicro.ltrationMFmembranes.FollowingonfromthisworkandinrecognitionofthestrategicimportanceofMFmembranes,AlexanderGoetz,aprofessorintheCaliforniaInstituteofTechnology,wassponsoredbytheUSmilitarytoduplicatetheSartoriusmembranetechnology.Goetzdevelopedanimprovedmembraneformationmethod,nowcalled‘vapour-inducedphaseseparation’.Themaininnovationofhismethodincludedusingacopolymerofcelluloseacetateandcellulosenitrateasthemembranematerial,andpreparingthemembraneinahighmoistureenvironment.ThistechnologywaslatertransferredtoLowellInc.,andin1954LowellestablishedtheMilliporeCorporationtocommer-cialisethemembrane.ThisrepresentstheincipientstagesoftheUSmicro-porousmembraneindustry.
Theperiodbetweenthe1960sandthe1980sisoftenregardedasbeingthegoldenageofmembranescience.Thecrucialbreakthroughwasthedevelop-mentoftheasymmetriccelluloseacetatemembranebyLoebandSourirajanin1963Loeb&Sourirajan,1964.LoebandSourirajan’smembranepreparationmethodisoftenreferredtoas‘wetphaseinversion’or‘non-solvent-inducedphaseseparation’NIPS.Microporousmembranespreparedbythismethodhaveanasymmetricporousstructure:averythinsurfacemicroporouslayerw0.2mmsupportedbyasubstratehavinglargerpores.Becauseofitsthinseparationlayer,theNIPSmembranedemonstratessigni.cantlyimproved.uxes.
TheLoebandSourirajanmembranepreparationmethodhadagreatin.uenceonthedevelopmentofreverseosmosisRO,UF,MFandgasseparation.LoebandSourirajan’sgoalwasfocusedonproducinghigh-.uxROmembranes,butotherresearchers,particularlyAlanS.Michaels,realizedthegeneralapplicabilityofthetechnique.MichaelswasthefounderofAmiconInc.Inthe1960s,AmiconInc.collaboratedwithDorr-OliverInc.todevelopnewkindsofUFmembranespreparedbyusingvariouspolymerssuchaspolyacrylonitrilePAN,polysulfonePS,polyvinylidenedi.uoridePVDFandothersMichaels,1963,applyingthenewproductsonanindustrialscale.
ThermallyinducedphaseseparationTIPSrepresentsanotherimportantimprovementinthedevelopmentofmembranetechnologies.InTIPS,polymeranditsdiluentsaremixedunderhightemperaturetoformauniformsolution.Graduallyreducingthetemperatureofthecastingsolutioncausesphaseseparationandconsequentlyaporousstructure.The.rstcommercialTIPSmembranemaybeattributedtoCastro1981.Inthefollowingtwodecades,TIPSmembraneshavebeenusedinavarietyofapplications,suchasbloodplasma.ltration,membranedistillation,fuelcellsandmedicaldressings.AdvantagesofTIPSmembranesincludehighporosity,highpermeationrate,highphysicalstrength,narrowporesizedistributionandgreaterwater.uxesthanthoseofNIPSmembranes:thepurewater.uxoftypicalTIPSMFmembranescommonlyexceeds1000Lperm2 membraneperhourperbarpressureLMHbar,comparedwith200e300LMHbarforNIPSUFandMFmaterials.TIPSmembranestypicallyusedforMFareof0.1e0.4mmporesize.
Twoothercommerciallyimportantmembraneproductionmethodsaretheradiationtracketchedandmeltextrusionandcold-stretchingmethods.
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Radiationtracketchingwasdevelopedinthe1960sFleischer,Price,&Walker,1969withlimitedapplicationinthemanufactureof.atmembraneduetoitspoorpermeabilityandhighcost.Themeltextrusionandcold-stretchingmethod,ontheotherhand,ismuchlowerincost.Themethodwas.rstdevelopedbyCelaneseCorp.in1974Druin,Loft,&Plovan,1974.In1977,MitsubishiRayonCorp.producedahollow-.breHFpolyethylenePEMFmembranebythismembraneformationmethod.Asanimmersedmembranemodule,theHFPEMFmembraneofMitsubishiRayonhasfoundmanyapplicationsinthe.eldofwastewatertreatment.
1.2.2. Membrane Bioreactor Technology
1.2.2.1. TheEarlyYears:1970se1990s
The.rstmembranebioreactorsMBRsweredevelopedcommerciallybyDorr-Oliverinthelate1960sBemberis,Hubbard,&Leonardet,1971,combiningUFwithaconventionalactivatedsludgeprocessCASP,forapplicationtoship-boardsewagetreatmentBailey,Bemberis,&Presti,1971.Otherbench-scalemembraneseparationsystemslinkedwithaCASPwerereportedataroundthesametimeHardt,Clesceri,Nemerow,&Washington,1970;Smith,Gregorio,&Talcott,1969.Thesesystemswereallbasedonwhathavecometobeknownas‘sidestream’con.gurationssMBR,Fig.1.1a,asopposedtothenowmorecommerciallysigni.cant‘immersed’con.gurationiMBR,Fig.1.1b.TheDorr-OlivermembranesewagetreatmentMSTprocesswasbasedon.at-sheetFSUFmembranesoperatedatwhatwouldnowbeconsideredexcessivepressures3.5barinletpressureandlow.uxes17Lm2 h,orLMH,yieldingmeanpermeabilitiesoflessthan10LMHbar.Nonetheless,theDorr-OliversystemsucceededinestablishingtheprincipleofcouplingaCASPwithamembranetosimultaneouslyconcentratethebiomasswhilstgeneratingaclari.ed,disinfectedproduct.ThesystemwasmarketedinJapanunderlicensetoSankiEngineering,withsomesuccessupuntiltheearly1990s.DevelopmentswerealsounderwayinSouthAfricawhichledtothe
Recirculated stream
a b
Sludge Out Sludge
FIG. 1.1 Con.gurations of a membrane bioreactor: a sidestream and b immersed.
commercializationofananaerobicdigesterUFADUFMBRbyWeirEnvigBotha,Sanderson,&Buckley,1992,foruseonhigh-strengthindustrialwastewaters.
Ataroundthistime,fromthelate1980stoearly1990s,otherimportantcommercialdevelopmentsweretakingplace.InJapan,thegovernment-insti-gatedwaterrecyclingprogrammepromptedpioneeringworkbyYamamoto,Hiasa,Mahmood,&Matsuo1989todevelopanimmersedHFUFMBRprocess,aswellasthedevelopmentofanFS-micro.ltrationiMBRbytheagriculturalmachinerycompany,KubotaSection4.2.1.Thissubsequentlyunderwentdemonstrationatpilotscale,.rstatHiroshimain199025m3day,or0.025megalitresperdayorMLDandthenatthecompany’sownsiteatSakai-Rinkaiin19920.110MLD.Bytheendof1996,therewerealready60KubotaplantsinstalledinJapanfordomesticwastewaterand,lateron,industrialef.uenttreatment,providingatotalinstalledcapacityof5.5MLD.AlsoinJapan,MitsubishiRayonintroduceditsSURMBRmembranemodule,basedonitsSteraporeproduct,in1993.
BoththeseproductstosomeextentdisplacedsomeoftheoldersidestreamsystemswhichhadbeenestablishedinJapan,thoughside-streamMBRscontinuetobeusedinJapanandelsewhere.Theinstallationofin-buildingwastewaterrecyclingplantsinJapanbasedontheOrelisEnvironmentformerlyRhodiaOrelisandbeforethisRho.nePoulencPLEIADE.FSsMBRsystem,actuallypre-datesthatoftheKubotaplantsforthisduty.ThePLEIADE.systemwasoriginallytrialledinFranceinthe1970sandby1999therewere125small-scalesystemsallbelow0.2MLDworldwide,themajorityofthesebeinginJapanandaroundadozeninFrance.TheDorr-OliverMSTsystemwassimilarlyrathermoresuccessfulinJapanthaninNorthAmericainthe1970sand1980sSutton,Mishra,Bratby,&Enegess,2002.WehrleEnvironmental,partoftheverywell-establishedWehrleWerkAGformedin1860ofGermany,hasbeenapplyingitsmultitubeMTsMBRspredominantlyemployingNoritX-FlowpolymericMTmembranemodulestoland.llleachatetreatmentsince1990.AsidestreamMBRDegremontsystembasedonceramicmembraneswasintroducedinthemid-1990s,andotherceramicmembraneproductshavealsobeenemployedinafewsMBRapplications.Thesepumpedsidestreamsystemsalltendtobeusedforindus-trialef.uenttreatmentapplicationsinvolvingrelativelylow.ows,suchthattheirmarketpenetrationcomparedwiththeimmersedsystems,particularlyinthemunicipalwatersector,hasbeenlimited.
AtaroundthesametimeasKubotaweredevelopingtheirproduct,intheUSAThetfordSystemsweredevelopingtheirCycle-Let.process,anothersidestreamprocess,forwastewaterrecyclingduties.ZenonEnvironmental,acompanyformedin1980andwhosubsequentlyacquiredThetfordSystems,weredevelopinganMBRsystem.Bytheearly1990s,theZenoGem.immersedHFUFMBRprocesshadbeenpatentedTonelli&Canning,1993;Tonelli&Behmann,1996,andthe.rstimmersedHFZeeWeed.module,the
The MBR Book
ZW145whichprovided145squarefeetofmembranearea,wasintroducedtothemarketin1993Section4.3.1.BytheendoftheMillenniumthetotalinstalledcapacityofZenonplantshadreached150MLD.
1.2.2.2. The Late 1990s Onwards: the Development of Other MBR Products
The.rstKubotamunicipalwastewatertreatmentworksinstalledoutsideJapanwasatPorlockintheUnitedKingdomin1997Section5.3.1.1,followingsuccessfultrialsatKingstonSeymourbyWessexWaterinthemid-1990s.The.rstZenonmembrane-basedplantofsimilarsizeinstalledoutsideoftheUSAwastheVeoliathenVivendiBiosep.plantatPerthesenGatinaisinFrancein1999Section5.3.1.1.Boththeseplantshaveapeak.owcapacityjustbelow2MLD,andrepresentlandmarkplantsinthedevelopmentandimplementationofimmersedMBRtechnology.
Bythelate1990s,however,otherMBRmembraneproductsandsystemswereunderdevelopment,leadingtoanexplosionofcommercialactivityfromtheturnoftheMillenniumtothepresentday.Whereasthe.rsthalfofthe1990ssawthelaunchofonlythreemajorimmersedMBRmembraneprod-ucts,originatingfromjusttwocountriesUSAandJapan,the.rst.veyearsofthefollowingdecadesawthelaunchofatleast10productsoriginatingfromsevencountries,coupledwiththreesigni.cantacquisitionsinthemid-noughtiesSection1.3.For12majorsuppliersTable1.1asat2010,therewereeitherexistingorplannedMBRinstallationsofmorethan10MLDcapacity.Inadditiontothoseproductslistedforwhichthereare‘.agship’largeplants,therearecurrentlyatleastanother33MBRmembraneproductsChapter4,allofwhichhavecometothemarketsincearound2000,inadditiontoanumberofproprietaryMBRtechnologiesbasedonafewofthemembraneproducts.
1.3. MARKET
1.3.1. General
MBRsystemshavebeenimplementedinmorethan200countriesIcon,2008;growthratesandtheextentofimplementationvaryregionallyaccordingtothestateofeconomicdevelopmentandinfrastructure.Commontoallregions,however,isthefactthatsalesofthetechnologyhavegenerallygrownfasterthantheGDPsofcountriesinstallingthem,signi.-cantlysoinChina,aswellasmorerapidlythantheindustriesthatusethemSrinivasan,2007;BCC,2008.Globalgrowthratesbetween9.5and12%areroutinelyquotedinreportsproducedbymarketanalysis,andthemarketvalueoftheMBRindustryispredictedtoapproach$0.5billion$500millionby2013.Datatakenfromtwosourcesfortheperiodbetween2000and2013indicateameangrowthrateof11.6e12.7%Fig.1.2.Thesedata