- Inline dosing of powdered activated carbon and coagulant prior to ultrafiltration at pilot-scale – Effects on trace organic chemical removal and operational stability. Chemical Engineering Journal 414, 2021, 128801 more…
- Role of nanofiltration or reverse osmosis integrated to ultrafiltration-anaerobic membrane bioreactor treating vinasse for the conservation of water and nutrients in the ethanol industry. Journal of Water Process Engineering 36, 2020, 101338 more…
- A hydraulically optimized fluidized bed UF membrane reactor (FB-UF-MR) for direct treatment of raw municipal wastewater to enable water reclamation with integrated energy recovery. Separation and Purification Technology 235, 2020, 116165 more…
- Reducing the Impacts of Biofouling in RO Membrane Systems through In Situ Low Fluence Irradiation Employing UVC-LEDs. Membranes 10 (12), 2020, 415 more…
- Antibiotic microbial resistance (AMR) removal efficiencies by conventional and advanced wastewater treatment processes: A review. Science of The Total Environment 685, 2019, 596-608 more…
- CT scanning of membrane feed spacers – Impact of spacer model accuracy on hydrodynamic and solute transport modeling in membrane feed channels. Journal of Membrane Science 564, 2018, 133-145 more…
- A novel concept to integrate energy recovery into potable water reuse treatment schemes. Journal of Water Reuse and Desalination, 2017, jwrd2017051 more…
- Seasonal variations in fate and removal of trace organic chemical contaminants while operating a full-scale membrane bioreactor. Science of The Total Environment 550, 2016, 176 - 183 more…
- Hazardous events in membrane bioreactors – Part 3: Impacts on microorganism log removal efficiencies. Journal of Membrane Science 497, 2016, 514-523 more…
- Mechanisms of Pathogenic Virus Removal in a Full-Scale Membrane Bioreactor. Environmental Science & Technology 49 (5), 2015, 2815-2822 more…
Membrane processes play a central role in the closure of in-house water cycles, the reuse of municipal wastewater as well as in seawater desalination and industrial processes. The research of the Membrane Filtration group at the Chair focuses on the mitigation of biofouling by integrating UV-LEDs into membrane modules, the combination of powdered activated carbon and ozone with ceramic ultrafiltration membranes, and the retention of microbial and chemical contaminants by high-pressure membranes.
The coupling of powdered activated carbon with ultrafiltration (UF) membranes results in high efficiencies for the retention of microbial contaminants as well as organic trace substances in the effluent of wastewater treatment plants. The mechanisms of the retention of antibiotic resistance carriers have to be elucidated in order to guarantee a high effluent quality. Furthermore, the formation of cake layers has to be optimized in such a way that operational advantages result. These water qualities would allow reuse for urban and agricultural irrigation as well as artificial groundwater recharge.
The unwanted growth of biofilms on the membrane surfaces and spacers, leading to operational problems, also referred to as biofouling, is a major concern for numerous nanofiltration (NF) and reverse osmosis (RO) systems. Biofouling in RO applications can lead to an increased feed channel pressure drop, as well as to a reduced membrane permeability and salt rejection. Chemicals and biocides used to clean fouled membranes are not environmentally friendly and can affect the membrane life span. To mitigate the negative effects of biofouling, we are investigating the application of UVC-LEDs upstream of RO as a hybrid process combination. Hereby it could be shown that the UV-induced effects on the microorganisms delay biofouling and the build-up biofilms show higher permeabilities. In comparison to conventional low and medium pressure UV lamps, UVC-LEDs allow new reactor designs and a possible in-situ integration in the pressure vessel of membrane systems for easy retrofitting.