Application of quorum quenching bacteria to membrane bioreactor for biofouling control
Membrane bioreactor (MBR) is one of the widely-used wastewater treatment technologies, although biofouling remains as the biggest challenge, which can significantly decrease the efficiency of MBR. Solutions such as backwashing and air scouring are standard practices in industry; however, these measu...
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| Format: | Final Year Project |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
2016
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| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/10356/67488 |
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| Institution: | Nanyang Technological University |
| Language: | English |
| Summary: | Membrane bioreactor (MBR) is one of the widely-used wastewater treatment technologies, although biofouling remains as the biggest challenge, which can significantly decrease the efficiency of MBR. Solutions such as backwashing and air scouring are standard practices in industry; however, these measures are energy-intensive and decrease the productivity of MBR.
Recently, regarding the quorum sensing (QS) signals, which trigger the formation of biofilm and thus resulting in biofouling, has been a topic of interest in controlling membrane biofouling. A promising solution is to apply quorum quenching (QQ) bacteria in MBR to control the biofouling.
This report covers the feasibility study of applying QQ bacteria in lab-scale MBR. Two types of signalling molecules autoinducer-2 (AI-2) and N-acyl homoserine lactone (AHLs) were exploited in the experiment and compared.
The results showed that it is possible to reduce biofilm formation by regulating the levels of AI-2 and AHLs level in the MBR. However, it was found out that the AI-2 regulating strains could not last longer than 3 to 4 days. Results also suggested that polysaccharides played an important role in the formation of biofilm which leads to biofouling. |
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