Quorum quenching bacteria can be used to inhibit the biofouling of reverse osmosis membranes.

Over the last few decades, significant efforts have concentrated on mitigating biofouling in reverse osmosis (RO) systems, with a focus on non-toxic and sustainable strategies. Here, we explored the potential of applying quorum quenching (QQ) bacteria to control biofouling in a laboratory-scale RO system. For these experiments, Pantoea stewartii was used as a model biofilm forming organism because it was previously shown to be a relevant wastewater isolate that also forms biofilms in a quorum sensing (QS) dependent fashion. A recombinant Escherichia coli strain, which can produce a QQ enzyme, was first tested in batch biofilm assays and significantly reduced biofilm formation by P. stewartii. Subsequently, RO membranes were fouled with P. stewartii and the QQ bacterium was introduced into the RO system using two different strategies, direct injection and immobilization within a cartridge microfilter. When the QQ bacterial cells were directly injected into the system, N-acylhomoserine lactone signals were degraded, resulting in the reduction of biofouling. Similarly, the QQ bacteria controlled biofouling when immobilized within a microfilter placed downstream of the RO module to remove QS signals circulating in the system. These results demonstrate the proof-of-principle that QQ can be applied to control biofouling of RO membranes and may be applicable for use in full-scale plants.

Ultrafiltration behaviors of alginate blocks at various calcium concentrations.

Alginate, a linear copolymer, is composed of 1,4-linked ß-d-mannuronic acid (M) and α-l-guluronic acid (G), which are combined into homopolymeric blocks (MM-block and GG-block) and heteropolymeric block (MG-block). It has been widely used as a model foulant in various studies of membrane fouling, thus this study investigated the impacts of calcium ion on MG-, MM- and GG-blocks of alginate and the filtration behaviors of the three types of alginate blocks at different concentrations of calcium ion. Results showed that calcium ion had the most serious effects on GG-blocks and significantly promotes the formation of transparent exopolymeric particles (TEP) from GG-blocks which in turn led to rapid formation of thick cake layer on membrane surface during the filtration of GG-blocks. As for MM-blocks, it was found that the formation of TEP was proportional to the Ca(2+) concentration in MM-blocks solution, while the membrane fouling was enhanced by Ca(2+) in the filtration of MM-blocks solution. Unlike MM- and GG-blocks, MG-blocks were nearly not affected by addition of calcium ion, as the result, there was no significant increase in TEP. The initial fouling rates and the mass of foulants deposed on the membrane surfaces further revealed a close correlation between the TEP concentration and the membrane fouling propensity. The observations by field emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM) and atomic force microscope (AFM) further confirmed the formation process of the cake layer by TEP on the membrane surface. This study offers deep insights into the development of membrane fouling by different alginate blocks in the presence of calcium ion, and suggests that TEP formed from alginate blocks played a very significant role in the fouling development.

Transparent exopolymer particles (TEP) and their potential effect on membrane biofouling.

Transparent exopolymer particles (TEP) have been described as a class of particulate acidic polysaccharides, which are large, transparent organic particles, and commonly found in seawater, surface water, and wastewater. Due to their unique physicochemical characteristics, more and more attention has recently been given to the effects of TEP on membrane fouling. In this review, the characteristics and determination methods of TEP as well as its potential effect on membrane biofouling are discussed. It appears that the analytical methods for TEP available in the literature are still debatable, and there is room for further improvement. Nevertheless, evidence suggests that TEP might be involved in the development of membrane fouling, especially at the early stage of biofilm development on membranes.