FACILITIES
STERLITECH MEMBRANE TEST CELL SYSTEM
The SterlitechTM Membrane Test Cell System is designed to evaluate the performance of membranes widely used in Reverse Osmosis, Nanofiltration, Ultrafiltration, and Microfiltration applications by simulating the flow dynamics of larger, commercially available membrane elements. This test bench unit offers experimental control by allowing adjustment of the flow parameters to accommodate a wide range of applications. In addition to flat-sheet membrane testing, the system can accommodate standard 1812 and 2540 spiral wound membrane elements.
AMICON® STIRRED CELLS
The 400 mL Amicon® stirred cells are ideal tools for membrane-related analysis, allowing to insert the membrane of choice and control the transmembrane pressure control. The permeate flux can be monitored via an electronic balance with automated data-logger.
SURPASSâ„¢ 3 - ANTON PAAR
SurPASS™ 3 is a high-end electrokinetic analyzer featuring fully automated zeta potential analysis of macroscopic solids in real-life conditions. SurPASS™ 3 employs the classic streaming potential and streaming current method for direct analysis of the surface zeta potential. Automatic pH scans and time-dependent recording of adsorption kinetics allow flexibility in the examination of surface chemistry.
AGS REACTOR
The conventional wastewater treatment facilities consist of primary clarifier, activated sludge treatment, secondary clarifier, and sand filtration. The biological treatment process occurs in the activated sludge treatment, which contains three large tanks under anaerobic, anoxic, and aerobic conditions. Comparing with the conventional activated sludge process (CAS), the aerobic granular sludge bioreactor (AGS) performed nutrients removal (nitrification, denitrification, and Phosphorous removal) in one tank, which could potentially save up to 75% of footprint and 50% of energy1. Other advantages of AGS system include better settling properties and lower life cycle cost. The settling rate can reach up to 15 times faster than CAS due to the large dense granules (0.8 mm to 1.6 mm). Meanwhile, the reduction in mechanical equipments lowers the construction, operating and maintenance costs. Besides, emerging contaminates could be bio-adsorbed by AGS, which is superior to CAS2. Although the AGS effluent meets the discharge limit, the post-treatment is required to reach the standards of reuse water. The integration of AGS with low pressure membrane module (ultrafiltration or microfiltration) can promote the advantages of these two technologies. The membrane will isolate the aerobic granules, which enhances the quality of permeate water. Meanwhile, the granules reduce the membrane fouling issues3. The shear stress aggregates the flocs into denser cake layers, which present high fouling resistance capacity on ultrafiltration membrane4.
References
Sludge, A. G. (2017). AquaNereda® Aerobic Granular Sludge Technology.
Sarma, S. J., Tay, J. H., & Chu, A. (2017). Finding knowledge gaps in aerobic granulation technology. Trends in biotechnology, 35(1), 66-78.
Liébana, R., Modin, O., Persson, F., & Wilén, B. M. (2018). Integration of aerobic granular sludge and membrane bioreactors for wastewater treatment. Critical reviews in biotechnology, 38(6), 801-816.
Wang, L., Liang, W., Chen, W., Zhang, W., Mo, J., Liang, K. & Jiang, F. (2018). Integrated aerobic granular sludge and membrane process for enabling municipal wastewater treatment and reuse water production. Chemical Engineering Journal, 337, 300-311.
FORWARD OSMOSIS SYSTEM
Forward osmosis (FO) is a natural process by which clean water passes from dirty feed water towards a salt ‘draw’ solution with higher osmotic pressure when the two solutions are separated by a semipermeable membrane. In our lab, both flat sheet FO system and hollow fiber FO system are available for water treatment and nutrients recovery from waste streams.
ELECTRODIALYSIS SYSTEM
Equipped with customizable ion-exchange membrane configuration, electrodialysis reversal, and automated control of the electrodialysis process, the PCCell Compact BED 1-2 system is designed for laboratory and small pilot-scale electrodialysis applications. Electrodialysis is a separation process in which electrical potential is used to transport ions from one solution to the other through ion-exchange membrane.