Biomimetic aquaporin membranes for osmotic membrane bioreactors: Membrane performance and contaminant removal

Wenhai Luo; Ming Xie; Xiaoye Song; Wenshan Guo; Hao H Ngo; John L Zhou; Long D Nghiem

doi:10.1016/j.biortech.2017.09.170

Biomimetic aquaporin membranes for osmotic membrane bioreactors: Membrane performance and contaminant removal

Bioresour Technol. 2018 Feb:249:62-68. doi: 10.1016/j.biortech.2017.09.170. Epub 2017 Sep 27.

Authors

Wenhai Luo¹, Ming Xie², Xiaoye Song³, Wenshan Guo⁴, Hao H Ngo⁴, John L Zhou⁴, Long D Nghiem³

Affiliations

¹ Beijing Key Laboratory of Farmland Soil Pollution Prevention and Remediation, College of Resources and Environmental Sciences, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China; Strategic Water Infrastructure Laboratory, School of Civil, Mining and Environmental Engineering, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, NSW 2522, Australia. Electronic address: luowenhai@cau.edu.cn.
² Institute for Sustainability and Innovation, College of Engineering and Science, Victoria University, Melbourne, VIC 8001, Australia.
³ Strategic Water Infrastructure Laboratory, School of Civil, Mining and Environmental Engineering, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, NSW 2522, Australia.
⁴ Centre for Technology in Water and Wastewater, School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Technology Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2007, Australia.

PMID: 29040861
DOI: 10.1016/j.biortech.2017.09.170

Abstract

In this study, we investigated the performance of an osmotic membrane bioreactor (OMBR) enabled by a novel biomimetic aquaporin forward osmosis (FO) membrane. Membrane performance and removal of 30 trace organic contaminants (TrOCs) were examined. Results show that the aquaporin FO membrane had better transport properties in comparison with conventional cellulose triacetate and polyamide thin-film composite FO membranes. In particular, the aquaporin FO membrane exhibited much lower salt permeability and thus smaller reverse salt flux, resulting in a less severe salinity build-up in the bioreactor during OMBR operation. During OMBR operation, the aquaporin FO membrane well complemented biological treatment for stable and excellent contaminant removal. All 30 TrOCs selected here were removed by over 85% regardless of their diverse properties. Such high and stable contaminant removal over OMBR operation also indicates the stability and compatibility of the aquaporin FO membrane in combination with activated sludge treatment.

Keywords: Activated sludge treatment; Aquaporin membrane; Forward osmosis; Osmotic membrane bioreactor; Trace organic contaminant.

MeSH terms

Aquaporins
Biomimetics*
Bioreactors*
Membranes, Artificial*
Osmosis
Water Purification

Substances

Aquaporins
Membranes, Artificial