UV and bacteriophages as a chemical-free approach for cleaning membranes from anaerobic bioreactors
Giantommaso Scarascia, Luca Fortunato, Yevhen Myshkevych, Hong Cheng, TorOve Leiknes, Pei‐Ying Hong
Abstract
Significance Anaerobic membrane bioreactors (AnMBR) can clean wastewater at lower energy costs and produce high-quality effluent for nonpotable reuse. However, biofouling represents the main bottleneck for membrane filtration efficiency. Biofouling is commonly reduced through chemical treatment. These agents are often detrimental for the environment and health safety due to the formation of toxic byproducts. Therefore, we present a new approach, based on the additive antifouling action of bacteriophages infection and UV-C irradiation, to reduce anaerobic membrane biofouling. This new strategy could potentially delay the occurrence of membrane fouling by removing the reversible fouling layers on membranes, in turn reducing the frequencies and amount of chemicals needed throughout the course of wastewater treatment.