A novel anaerobic electrochemical membrane bioreactor (AnEMBR) with conductive hollow-fiber membrane for treatment of low-organic strength solutions
Type
ArticleAuthors
Katuri, KrishnaWerner, Craig M.
Jimenez Sandoval, Rodrigo J.
Chen, Wei
Jeon, Sungil
Logan, Bruce E.
Lai, Zhiping

Amy, Gary L.
Saikaly, Pascal

KAUST Department
Advanced Membranes and Porous Materials Research CenterBiological and Environmental Sciences and Engineering (BESE) Division
Chemical Engineering Program
Environmental Biotechnology Research Group
Environmental Science and Engineering Program
Office of the VP
Physical Science and Engineering (PSE) Division
Water Desalination and Reuse Research Center (WDRC)
Date
2014-10-22Online Publication Date
2014-10-22Print Publication Date
2014-11-04Permanent link to this record
http://hdl.handle.net/10754/563843
Metadata
Show full item recordAbstract
A new anaerobic treatment system that combined a microbial electrolysis cell (MEC) with membrane filtration using electrically conductive, porous, nickel-based hollow-fiber membranes (Ni-HFMs) was developed to treat low organic strength solution and recover energy in the form of biogas. This new system is called an anaerobic electrochemical membrane bioreactor (AnEMBR). The Ni-HFM served the dual function as the cathode for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) and the membrane for filtration of the effluent. The AnEMBR system was operated for 70 days with synthetic acetate solution having a chemical oxygen demand (COD) of 320 mg/L. Removal of COD was >95% at all applied voltages tested. Up to 71% of the substrate energy was recovered at an applied voltage of 0.7 V as methane rich biogas (83% CH4; < 1% H2) due to biological conversion of the hydrogen evolved at the cathode to methane. A combination of factors (hydrogen bubble formation, low cathode potential and localized high pH at the cathode surface) contributed to reduced membrane fouling in the AnEMBR compared to the control reactor (open circuit voltage). The net energy required to operate the AnEMBR system at an applied voltage of 0.7 V was significantly less (0.27 kWh/m3) than that typically needed for wastewater treatment using aerobic membrane bioreactors (1-2 kWh/m3).Citation
Katuri, K. P., Werner, C. M., Jimenez-Sandoval, R. J., Chen, W., Jeon, S., Logan, B. E., … Saikaly, P. E. (2014). A Novel Anaerobic Electrochemical Membrane Bioreactor (AnEMBR) with Conductive Hollow-fiber Membrane for Treatment of Low-Organic Strength Solutions. Environmental Science & Technology, 48(21), 12833–12841. doi:10.1021/es504392nPublisher
American Chemical Society (ACS)PubMed ID
25310368ae974a485f413a2113503eed53cd6c53
10.1021/es504392n
Scopus Count
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Articles; Biological and Environmental Science and Engineering (BESE) Division; Advanced Membranes and Porous Materials Research Center; Environmental Science and Engineering Program; Physical Science and Engineering (PSE) Division; Chemical Engineering Program; Water Desalination and Reuse Research Center (WDRC)Related articles
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