Functional Determinants of Extracellular Polymeric Substances in Membrane Biofouling: Experimental Evidence from Pure-Cultured Sludge Bacteria

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Abstract
Membrane biofouling is one of the main challenges for the operation of membrane-based processes used for water and wastewater treatment. This study revealed the functional determinants of EPS in membrane biofouling of 23 bacterial strains isolated from a full-scale membrane bioreactor (MBR) plant. We found that an α-1,4-glycosidic bond, amide II, and uronic acids of EPS significantly correlated with the fouling potentials of bacteria. The roles of these EPS groups in membrane fouling were impacted by calcium resulting from EPS-calcium interactions. In addition, our results also demonstrated that any perturbations in the sludge bacterial community in MBRs can lead to varied filtration potentials of the bulk liquor.
Funding Information
  • Chinese Postdoctoral Science Foundation (2017M612807)
  • National Natural Science Foundation of China (51608546 and 51478487)
  • Natural Science Foundation of Guangdong Province (2014A030306002)

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