Rotate Instead of Aerate More: The Rotating Hollow Fibre Membrane Bioreactor

A series of experiments were conducted using the rotating hollow fibre (HF) membrane bioreactor (MBR) during continuous operation to investigate the behaviour of transmembrane pressure and assess options for maintenance cleaning. The module rotation demonstrated a more substantial impact than the diffusion system in achieving an acceptable TMP increase for the continuous operation of pilot plant. This impact was notable as the module successfully operated continuously for seven days at a filtration flux of 24 L/(m2∙h), even without aeration, suggesting the potential for significant energy savings. During the maintenance cleaning, the cleaning in air method demonstrated better performance than the cleaning in place method.