Co-application of energy uncoupling and ultrafiltration in sludge treatment:Evaluations of sludge reduction,supernatant recovery and membrane fouling control

Energy uncoupling is often used for sludge reduction because it is easy to operate and does not require a significant amount of extra equipments(i.e.no additional tank required).However,over time the supernatant extracted using this method can deteriorate,ultimately requiring further treatment.The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of using a low-pressure ultrafiltration membrane process for sludge water recovery after the sludge had undergone an energy uncoupling treatment(using 3,3’,4’,5-tetrachlorosalicylanilide(TCS)).Energy uncoupling was found to break apart sludge floe by reducing extracellular polymeric substances(EPS)and adenosine triphosphate(ATP)content.Analysis of supernatant indicated that when energy uncoupling and membrane filtration were coapplied and the TCS dosage was below 30 mg/L,there was no significant deterioration in organic component removal.However,ammonia and phosphate concentrations were found to increase as the concentration of TCS added increased.Additionally,due to low sludge concentrations and EPS contents,addition of 30-60 mg/L TCS during sludge reduction increased the permeate flux(two times higher than the control)and decreased the hydraulic reversible and cake layer resistances.In contrast,high dosage of TCS aggravated membrane fouling by forming compact fouling layers.In general,this study found that the co-application of energy uncoupling and membrane filtration processes represents an effective alternative method for simultaneous sludge reduction and sludge supernatant recovery.

Metabolic uncoupler,3,3’,4’,5-tetrachlorosalicylanilide addition for sludge reduction and fouling control in a gravity-driven membrane bioreactor

The gravity-driven membrane bioreactor(MBR)system is promising for decentralized sewage treatment because of its low energy consumption and maintenance requirements.However,the growing sludge not only increases membrane fouling,but also augments operational complexities(sludge discharge).We added the metabolic uncoupler 3,3’,4f,5-tetrachlorosalicylanilide(TC$)to the system to deal with the mentioned issues.Based on the results,TCS addition effectively decreased sludge ATP and sludge yield(reduced by 50%).Extracellular polymeric substances(EPS;proteins and polysaccharides)decreased with the addition of TCS and were transformed into dissolved soluble microbial products(SMPs)in the bulk solution,leading to the break of sludge floes into small fragments.Permeability was increased by more than two times,reaching 60-70 L/m2/h bar when 10-30 mg/L TCS were added,because of the reduced suspended sludge and the formation of a thin cake layer with low EPS levels.Resistance analyses confirmed that appropriate dosages of TCS primarily decreased the cake layer and hydraulically reversible resistances.Permeability decreased at high dosage(50 mg/L)due to the release of excess sludge fragments and SMP into the supernatant,with a thin but more compact fouling layer with low bioactivity developing on the membrane surface,causing higher cake layer and pore blocking resistances.Our study provides a fundamental understanding of how a metabolic uncoupler affects the sludge and bio-fouling layers at different dosages,with practical relevance for in situ sludge reduction and membrane fouling alleviation in MBR systems.