Quantitative measurement and visualization of biofilm O 2 consumption rates in membrane filtration systems
Type
ArticleAuthors
Prest, Emmanuelle I E CStaal, Marc J.
Kühl, Michael
van Loosdrecht, Mark C.M.

Vrouwenvelder, Johannes S.

KAUST Department
Water Desalination and Reuse Research Center (WDRC)Environmental Science and Engineering Program
Date
2012-03Permanent link to this record
http://hdl.handle.net/10754/562106
Metadata
Show full item recordAbstract
There is a strong need for techniques enabling direct assessment of biological activity of biofouling in membrane filtration systems. Here we present a new quantitative and non-destructive method for mapping O 2 dynamics in biofilms during biofouling studies in membrane fouling simulators (MFS). Transparent planar O 2 optodes in combination with a luminescence lifetime imaging system were used to map the two-dimensional distribution of O 2 concentrations and consumption rates inside the MFS. The O 2 distribution was indicative for biofilm development. Biofilm activity was characterized by imaging of O 2 consumption rates, where low and high activity areas could be clearly distinguished. The spatial development of O 2 consumption rates, flow channels and stagnant areas could be determined. This can be used for studies on concentration polarization, i.e. salt accumulation at the membrane surface resulting in increased salt passage and reduced water flux. The new optode-based O 2 imaging technique applied to MFS allows non-destructive and spatially resolved quantitative biological activity measurements (BAM) for on-site biofouling diagnosis and laboratory studies. The following set of complementary tools is now available to study development and control of biofouling in membrane systems: (i) MFS, (ii) sensitive pressure drop measurement, (iii) magnetic resonance imaging, (iv) numerical modelling, and (v) biological activity measurement based on O 2 imaging methodology. © 2011 Elsevier B.V.Citation
Prest, E. I., Staal, M., Kühl, M., van Loosdrecht, M. C. M., & Vrouwenvelder, J. S. (2012). Quantitative measurement and visualization of biofilm O2 consumption rates in membrane filtration systems. Journal of Membrane Science, 392-393, 66–75. doi:10.1016/j.memsci.2011.12.003Sponsors
This work was performed by Wetsus, centre of excellence for sustainable water technology, Delft University of Technology and the Marine Biological Laboratory, University of Copenhagen. Wetsus is funded by the Ministry of Economic Affairs. Additional support was due to grants from the Danish Natural Science Research Council (M. S., M. K.). The authors thank the participants of the Wetsus theme 'Biofouling' for the fruitful discussions and their financial support.Publisher
Elsevier BVJournal
Journal of Membrane Scienceae974a485f413a2113503eed53cd6c53
10.1016/j.memsci.2011.12.003