The effect of different carbon sources on biofouling in membrane fouling simulators: microbial community and implications

Abstract

Biofouling is a problem affecting the operation of nanofiltration systems due to the complexity of the carbon matrix affecting bacteria and biofilm growth. This study used membrane fouling simulators to investigate the effects of five different carbon sources on the biofouling of nanofiltration membranes. For all the carbon sources analyzed, the increase in pressure drop was most accelerated for acetate. The use of acetate as the single carbon source produced less adenosine triphosphate but more extracellular polymers than glucose. The microbial community was analyzed using 16 s rRNA. The use of more than a single carbon source produced an increase in bacteria diversity even at similar concentrations. The relative abundance of proteobacteria was the highest at the phylum level (95%) when a single carbon source was added. Additionally, it was found that the use of different carbon sources produced a shift in the microbial community, affecting the biofouling and pressure drop on membranes.

Graphical Abstract

Keywords:

• Biofouling
• pressure drop
• microbial communities
• nutrients
• membrane fouling simulator

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This work was financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China [grant Nos. 51978367 and 52270007].