Magnetically induced membrane vibration (MMV) system for wastewater treatment

Membrane bioreactors (MBRs) are gaining more attention as they provide a viable alternative for conventional wastewater treatment. To operate efficiently, however, it is still key to select appropriate antifouling strategies. Fouling mitigation through vibration, as in the magnetically induced vibration (MMV) system, has been conceptually proven recently, but was never further optimized. This work presents a 2nd generation vibration system which was validated in both an aerobic MBR (AeMBR) and anaerobic MBR (AnMBR) improving the filtration time respectively by a factor of 133, at 60 L/m(2)h, and a factor 13, at 20 L/m(2)h. To prolong this filtration time even further, a combination with backwashing proved to be more effective compared to relaxation, allowing a 10-days long continuous operation for an AnMBR at a flux of 20 L/m(2)h.