The effect of feed salinity on the biofouling dynamics of seawater desalination.

A persistent cell labeling dye and a novel microbial counting method were used to explore the effects of salinity on a microbial population in a reverse osmosis (RO) desalination system, and these clearly distinguished microbial cell multiplication from cell adherence. The results indicated that microbial multiplication is more active at the front of a seawater RO pressure vessel, while adhesion dominates the back of the vessel. A severe reduction in RO permeate flux and total dissolved solid (TDS) rejection were detected at low salinity, attributed to marked cell multiplication and release of extracellular polymeric substances, whilst a relatively stable flux was observed at medium and high salinity. The results from PCR-DGGE revealed the variation in microbial species distribution on the membrane with salinity. The results imply the critical role of membrane modification in biofouling mitigation in the desalination process.

Coagulation dynamics of fractal flocs induced by enmeshment and electrostatic patch mechanisms.

The size and structure of flocs during floc formation were monitored for various coagulation mechanisms. Two distinctive mechanisms, namely, enmeshment and electrostatic patch, govern the dynamics of kaolin particles coagulation by polyaluminum chloride (PACl). They were investigated by small angle static light scattering (SASLS) and solid-state (27)Al NMR. In addition, a novel wet SEM (WSEM) was used in-situ to image the morphology of the aggregate in aqueous solution. Synthetic suspended particles were coagulated by two PACl products, a commercial product (PACl) and one laboratory product (PACl-E). The PACl-E contained more than 60% Al(13) while the PACl contained only 7% Al(13), with large percentage of colloidal Al. For coagulation by PACl at neutral pH and high dosage where the strong repulsion between particles occurs, the enmeshment ruled by reaction-limited aggregation (RLA) results in larger sweep flocs as well as higher fractal dimensional structure. For coagulation by PACl-E at alkaline pH and low dosage, the flocs were coagulated predominately by electrostatic patch with Al(13) aggregates. At such condition, it is likely that diffusion-limited aggregation (DLA) predominately rule PACl-E coagulation. The fractal dimension (D(s)) values of PACl and PACl-E flocs formed at enmeshment and electrostatic patch increased with dosage, respectively. When breakage of flocs occurs, the breakage rate of PACl-E flocs is slower than that of sweep flocs. By WSEM imaging, the adsorption of spherical Al precipitates onto the particles was observed to form sweep flocs with a rough and ragged contour, while the PACl-E flocs were formed with a smooth and glossy structure.

Coagulation behavior of Al(13) aggregates.

The coagulation behavior of Al(13) aggregates formed in coagulation of kaolin was investigated by small angle static light scattering (SASLS), solid-state (27)Al NMR and tapping mode atomic force microscope (TM-AFM). A kaolin suspension was coagulated by PACl containing high content of Al(13) polycation (PACl-Al(13)). The results indicated that Al(13) was predominant in destabilizing kaolin particles for PACl-Al(13) coagulation even though at alkaline pH (pH 10). At such high pH, Al(13) aggregates were observed when the dosage of PACl-Al(13) was increased. In addition, the mechanism of coagulation by PACl-Al(13) at alkaline pH was affected by dosage. When the dosage was insufficient, coagulation was caused by electrostatic patch, which led to compact flocs with high fractal dimension (D(f)). Interparticle bridging dominated the coagulation when the coagulant dosage approached the plateau of adsorption, which caused the looser flocs with low D(f). The in-situ AFM scanning in liquid system proved that the existence of linear Al(13) aggregates composed of a chain of coiled Al(13) in coagulation by PACl-Al(13) at a high dosage and alkaline pH. Meanwhile, several coiled Al(13) aggregates with various dimensions were observed at such condition.

Recycling MSWI bottom and fly ash as raw materials for Portland cement.

Municipal solid waste incineration (MSWI) ash is rich in heavy metals and salts. The disposal of MSWI ash without proper treatment may cause serious environmental problems. Recently, the local cement industry in Taiwan has played an important role in the management of solid wastes because it can utilize various kinds of wastes as either fuels or raw materials. The objective of this study is to assess the possibility of MSWI ash reuse as a raw material for cement production. The ash was first washed with water and acid to remove the chlorides, which could cause serious corrosion in the cement kiln. Various amounts of pre-washed ash were added to replace the clay component of the raw materials for cement production. The allowable limits of chloride in the fly ash and bottom ash were found to be 1.75% and 3.50% respectively. The results indicate that cement production can be a feasible alternative for MSWI ash management. It is also evident that the addition of either fly ash or bottom ash did not have any effect on the compressive strength of the clinker. Cement products conformed to the Chinese National Standard (CNS) of Type II Portland cement with one exception, the setting time of the clinker was much longer.

Characteristics of membrane fouling in submerged membrane bioreactor under sub-critical flux operation.

Recently, the membrane bioreactor (MBR) process has become one of the novel technologies to enhance the performance of biological treatment of wastewater. Membrane bioreactor process uses the membrane unit to replace a sediment tank, and this can greatly enhance treatment performance. However, membrane fouling in MBR restricts its widespread application because it leads to permeate flux decline, making more frequent membrane cleaning and replacement necessary, which then increases operating and maintenance costs. This study investigated the sludge characteristics in membrane fouling under sub-critical flux operation and also assessed the effect of shear stress on membrane fouling. Membrane fouling was slow under sub-critical flux operation. However, as filamentous microbes became dominant in the reactor, membrane fouling increased dramatically due to the increased viscosity and polysaccharides. A close link was found between membrane fouling and the amount of polysaccharides in soluble EPS. The predominant resistance was the cake resistance which could be minimized by increasing the shear stress. However, the resistance of colloids and solutes was not apparently reduced by increasing shear stress. Therefore, smaller particles such as macromolecules (e.g. polysaccharides) may play an important role in membrane fouling under sub-critical flux operation.

The origin of Al(OH)(3)-rich and Al(13)-aggregate flocs composition in PACl coagulation.

The composition of hydrolyzed Al species is essential for the understanding of coagulation with Al-based coagulants. Surface characteristics of flocs formed by coagulation with two distinct polyaluminum chloride (PACl) coagulants were identified. One commercial coagulant (PACl-C) with voluminous monomeric Al and colloidal Al(OH)(3) and a custom-made PACl (PACl-Al(13)) containing high Al(13) content were applied to destabilize kaolin particles. The flocs formed by PACl-C and PACl-Al(13) at neutral and alkaline pH ranges, respectively, were observed by FE-SEM and HR-TEM. In addition, the Al composition of these flocs was characterized by XPS and HR-XRD, and the imaging of Al(OH)(3) precipitates and Al(13) aggregates were conducted by SEM as well as tapping mode AFM in liquid system. The observations of flocs indicate that the morphology of Al(OH)(3)-rich flocs are fluffy and porous around the edge of flocs, while the Al(13)-aggregate flocs have a glossy contour and irregular structure. Both Al(OH)(3)-rich and Al(13)-aggregate flocs do not possess well-formed crystalline structure except for the Al(13)-like crystal exists in the Al(13)-aggregate flocs. Among Al(OH)(3) precipitates, colloidal Al(OH)(3) is micro-scale in size, while amorphous Al(OH)(3) is nano-scale. During the formation of Al(13) aggregates, some coiled and clustered Al(13) aggregates with smoother surface were observed. The XPS study on floc surface showed that tetrahedral (Al(IV)) /octahedral (Al(VI)) Al ratio on the surfaces of PACl-C and PACl-Al(13) flocs is 1:1.6 and 1:9.9, respectively. Of the in situ formed Al(13), almost half of Al-hydroxide precipitates on the surface of Al(OH)(3)-rich flocs possess the Al(IV) center. It also found that the irregularly aggregated Al(13) with a similar Al(13) crystalline structure subsists on the surface of Al(13)-aggregate flocs.