Combined photocatalysis and membrane bioreactor for the treatment of feedwater containing thin film transistor-liquid crystal display discharge.

The nitrogen content of waste water generated by the thin film transistor-liquid crystal display (TFT-LCD) industry is not satisfactorily removed through the conventional aerobic-activated sludge process. In this study, the performance of three reactors ­ suspended type TiO2 membrane photoreactor (MPR), anoxic/oxic membrane bioreactor (AOMBR), and their combination (MPR-AOMBR) ­ was evaluated using feedwater containing TFT-LCD discharge. The parameters that maximized monoethanolamine (MEA) removal in the MPR were continuous ultraviolet (UV) irradiation and pH 11. Among the tested loadings, 0.1 g/l of TiO2 promoted MEA removal but degradation rate may further increase with photocatalyst concentration. The nitrified sludge recycle ratio R of the AOMBR was adjusted to 1.5 to minimize the amount of nitrate in the effluent. The AOMBR greatly decreased chemical oxygen demand and MEA, but removed only 32.7% of tetramethyl ammonium hydroxide (TMAH). The MPR was configured as the pre-treatment unit for AOMBR, and the combined MPR-AOMBR has improved TMAH removal by 80.1%. The MPR bolstered performance by decomposing slowly biodegradable compounds, and had no negative effects on denitrification and carbon removal.

Evaluation of the antifouling and photocatalytic properties of poly(vinylidene fluoride) plasma-grafted poly(acrylic acid) membrane with self-assembled TiO2.

Immobilization of TiO(2) is a promising approach that produces antifouling and photocatalytic membranes that could help advance wastewater treatment and re-use processes. In this study, poly(acrylic acid) (PAA) was plasma-grafted on commercial poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) to introduce functional groups on the membrane surface that can support the nanoparticles. It was found that plasma treatment at 100 W for 120 s followed by liquid grafting with 70% aqueous AA at 60°C for 2h maximized the number of TiO(2) binding sites. Membrane hydrophilicity was tremendously enhanced by the self-assembly of TiO(2), following a direct proportionality to TiO(2) loading. The membrane with 0.5% TiO(2) loading maintained the highest pure water flux and the best protein antifouling property. UV irradiation triggered the photodegradation of strongly bound foulants, but at least 1.5% TiO(2) and 30 min cumulative irradiation were necessary to completely recover the membrane's original performance. The TiO(2)-modified membranes removed 30-42% of 50mg/l aqueous Reactive Black 5 (RB5) dye. The fabricated membranes demonstrate huge potential for use in membrane reactors with high hydrophilicity, fouling mitigation, and photocatalytic capability.

Detection of polyhydroxyalkanoate-accumulating bacteria from domestic wastewater treatment plant using highly sensitive PCR primers.

Polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) is a class of biodegradable plastics that have great potential applications in the near future. In this study, the micro-biodiversity and productivity of PHA-accumulating bacteria in activated sludge from a domestic wastewater treatment plant were investigated. A previously reported primer set and a selfdesigned primer set (phaCF1BO/phaCR2BO) were both used to amplify the PHA synthase (phaC) gene of isolated colonies. The new primers demonstrated higher sensitivity for phaC, and combining the PCR results of the two primer sets was able to widen the range of detected genera and raise the sensitivity to nearly 90%. Results showed that 85.3% of the identified bacteria were Gram-negative, with Ralstonia as the dominant genus, and 14.7% were Gram-positive. In addition, Zoogloea and Rhizobium contained the highest amounts of intracellular PHA. It is apparent that glucose was a better carbon source than pentone or tryptone for promoting PHA production in Micrococcus. Two different classes, class I and class II, of phaC were detected from alphaproteobacteria, betaproteobacteria, and gammaproteobacteria, indicating the wide diversity of PHA-accumulating bacteria in this particular sampling site. Simultaneous wastewater treatment and PHA production is promising by adopting the high PHAaccumulating bacteria isolated from activated sludge.