Hybrid Treatment System to Remove Micromolecular SMPs from Fruit Wastewater Treated with an MBR

Fruit processors want to reduce their environmental footprint by implementing the recycling of treated wastewater. Observations of a membrane bioreactor (MBR) and reverse osmosis (RO) system showed that the RO quickly fouled due to elevated levels of soluble microbial products (SMPs), an inert micromolecular composition in the form of dissolved organic matter (DOM) in the MBR effluent. Bench scale experiments were completed using enhanced coagulation and granular activated carbon sorption. Results showed that enhanced coagulation removed only 20% of the DOM, which was insufficient to protect the RO membrane. However, sorption studies with GAC showed that 98% of the dissolved SMP-DOM could be removed, the fraction of DOM from microbial activities. Results also showed that when enhanced coagulation preceded the sorption stage, GAC column run time could be extended by about 15%. The resulting BMP minimizes RO membrane fouling in the agri-food sector and opens further water recycling opportunities.The accepted manuscript in pdf format is listed with the files at the bottom of this page. The presentation of the authors' names and (or) special characters in the title of the manuscript may differ slightly between what is listed on this page and what is listed in the pdf file of the accepted manuscript; that in the pdf file of the accepted manuscript is what was submitted by the author