Biological control of microbial attachment and membrane biofouling

Microbial attachment onto a solid surface is a common phenomenon observed in natural and engineering systems. Biofilm can develop within a short period of time and causes biofouling problems especially in water and wastewater treatment employing membrane technology. Membrane fouling is the main issue that limits the development of membrane systems. Biological control of membrane biofouling utilizing chemical uncoupler seems to provide a promising and feasible solution.This study investigated the effects of chemical uncoupler, 2, 4 dinitrophenol (DNP) to enhance biofilm detachment from nylon membrane. DNP was tested on various biofilm age ranging from 0 to 20mg/L fixed at 2 hour treatment. The effect of DNP on prolonged treatment duration was performed on 24h-old biofilm. Various essential parameters including flux, biomass, ATP, AI-2, EPS and stained biofilm were analyzed in the experiment.Bachelor of Engineering (Environmental Engineering