Robert Nerenberg

The membrane biofilm reactor (MBfR) for water and wastewater treatment: principles, applications, and recent developments.

The membrane biofilm reactor (MBfR), an emerging technology for water and wastewater treatment, is based on pressurized membranes that supply a gaseous substrate to a biofilm formed on the membranes exterior. MBfR biofilms behave differently from conventional biofilms due to the counter-diffusion of substrates. MBfRs are uniquely suited for numerous treatment applications, including the removal of carbon and nitrogen when oxygen is supplied, and reduction of oxidized contaminants when hydrogen is supplied. Major benefits include high gas utilization efficiency, low energy consumption, and small reactor footprints. The first commercial MBfR was recently released, and its success may lead to the scale-up of other applications. MBfR development still faces challenges, including biofilm management, the design of scalable reactor configurations, and the identification of cost-effective membranes. If future research and development continue to address these issues, the MBfR may play a key role in the next generation of sustainable treatment systems.

Kinetics of a chlorate-accumulating, perchlorate-reducing bacterium

Kinetics parameters for perchlorate and chlorate reduction were determined for Dechlorosoma sp. HCAP-C, also known as Dechlorosoma sp. PCC, a novel perchlorate-reducing bacterium (PCRB) that accumulates significant amounts of chlorate during perchlorate reduction. This is the first report of such behavior, and we hypothesized the perchlorate reduction kinetics would be markedly different from other PCRB. In batch tests with initial perchlorate concentrations ranging from 200 to around 1400 mg/L, maximum chlorate accumulation ranged from 41 to 279 mg/L, and were consistently around 20% of the initial perchlorate concentration. For perchlorate, parameters were determined using a competitive inhibition model. The maximum specific substrate degradation rate qmaxP was 11.5mgClO4-/mgdry weight (DW)-d, and the half-maximum rate constant KP was 193 mgClO4-/L. For chlorate, the qmaxC was 8.3 mgClO3-/mgDW-d and the KC was 58.3 mgClO3-/L. The high KP values relative to conventional PCRB, values suggests that HCAP-C does not play a significant role at low perchlorate concentrations. However, the relatively high qmaxP, and the potential for syntrophic relationships with chlorate-reducing bacteria that relieve the effects of chlorate inhibition, suggest that HCAP-C could play a significant role at high perchlorate concentrations.

Hydroxylamine Diffusion Can Enhance N 2 O Emissions in Nitrifying Biofilms: A Modeling Study

Wastewater treatment plants can be significant sources of nitrous oxide (N2O), a potent greenhouse gas. However, little is known about N2O emissions from biofilm processes. We adapted an existing suspended-growth mathematical model to explore N2O emissions from nitrifying biofilms. The model included N2O formation by ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB) via the hydroxylamine and the nitrifier denitrification pathways. Our model suggested that N2O emissions from nitrifying biofilms could be significantly greater than from suspended growth systems under similar conditions. The main cause was the formation and diffusion of hydroxylamine, an AOB nitrification intermediate, from the aerobic to the anoxic regions of the biofilm. In the anoxic regions, hydroxylamine oxidation by AOB provided reducing equivalents used solely for nitrite reduction to N2O, since there was no competition with oxygen. For a continuous system, very high and very low dissolved oxygen (DO) concentrations resulted in lower emissions, while intermediate values led to higher emissions. Higher bulk ammonia concentrations and greater biofilm thicknesses increased emissions. The model effectively predicted N2O emissions from an actual pilot-scale granular sludge reactor for sidestream nitritation, but significantly underestimated the emissions when the NH2OH diffusion coefficient was assumed to be minimal. This numerical study suggests an unexpected and important role of hydroxylamine in N2O emission in biofilms.

Adapting a denitrifying biocathode for perchlorate reduction

Perchlorate is widely used as a propellant in the aerospace and defense industries, and is of environmental concern due to its high mobility and inhibiting effect on thyroid function. An ideal treatment approach is bioreduction to chloride via dissimilatory perchlorate-reducing bacteria (PCRB). PCRB are ubiquitous in the environment, and are mainly facultative anaerobes and denitrifiers. Previous research suggests that PCRB may grow using a cathode as an electron donor, although this research was performed in a half cell with exogenous electron shuttles. We investigated a functioning MFC with a denitrifying biocathode for perchlorate reduction, as a means to confirm the existence of biocathode-utilizing PCRB and the possibility of perchlorate remediation without added shuttles. The biocathode was initially run with 20 mgN/L nitrate. The perchlorate concentration was increased stepwise from 0.1 mg/L to 20 mg/L, while the nitrate concentration was decreased from 20 mgN/L to 5 mgN/L. The maximum perchlorate removal was 12 mg/L-d, contributing 64% to the 0.28 mA produced by the cell. Given the lack of soluble electron donor in the medium, the extent of perchlorate reduction, and the improvement of perchlorate reduction over time, these tests strongly suggest PCRB are utilizing the cathode as an electron donor without exogenous electron shuttles.

The membrane-biofilm reactor (MBfR) as a counter-diffusional biofilm process.

The membrane-biofilm reactor (MBfR), sometimes known as the membrane-aerated biofilm reactor (MABR), is an emerging treatment technology based on gas-transferring membranes. The membranes typically supply a gaseous electron donor or acceptor substrate, such as oxygen, hydrogen, and methane. The substrate diffuses through the membrane to a biofilm naturally forming on the membrane outer surface. The complementary substrate (electron donor or acceptor) typically diffuses from the bulk liquid into the biofilm, making MBfR counter diffusional. This paper reviews the unique behavior of counter-diffusional biofilms and highlights recent research on the MBfR. Key advances include insights into the microbial community structure of MBfRs, applying the MBfR to novel contaminants, providing a better understanding of biofilm morphology and its effects on MBfR behavior, and the development of methane-based MBfR applications. These advances are likely to further the development of the MBfR for environmental applications, such as energy-efficient wastewater treatment and advanced water treatment.

Multicomponent model of deformation and detachment of a biofilm under fluid flow

A novel biofilm model is described which systemically couples bacteria, extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) and solvent phases in biofilm. This enables the study of contributions of rheology of individual phases to deformation of biofilm in response to fluid flow as well as interactions between different phases. The model, which is based on first and second laws of thermodynamics, is derived using an energetic variational approach and phase-field method. Phase-field coupling is used to model structural changes of a biofilm. A newly developed unconditionally energy-stable numerical splitting scheme is implemented for computing the numerical solution of the model efficiently. Model simulations predict biofilm cohesive failure for the flow velocity between and m s−1 which is consistent with experiments. Simulations predict biofilm deformation resulting in the formation of streamers for EPS exhibiting a viscous-dominated mechanical response and the viscosity of EPS being less than . Higher EPS viscosity provides biofilm with greater resistance to deformation and to removal by the flow. Moreover, simulations show that higher EPS elasticity yields the formation of streamers with complex geometries that are more prone to detachment. These model predictions are shown to be in qualitative agreement with experimental observations.

Multidimensional modeling of biofilm development and fluid dynamics in a hydrogen-based, membrane biofilm reactor (MBfR)

A two-dimensional, particle-based biofilm model coupled with mass transport and computational fluid dynamics was developed to simulate autotrophic denitrification in a spiral-wound membrane biofilm reactor (MBfR), where hydrogen is supplied via hollow-fiber membrane fabric. The spiral-wound configuration consists of alternating layers of plastic spacer net and membrane fabric that create rows of flow channels, with the top and bottom walls comprised of membranes. The transversal filaments of the spacer partially obstruct the channel flow, producing complex mixing and shear patterns that require multidimensional representation. This study investigated the effect of hydrogen and nitrate concentrations, as well as spacer configuration, on biofilm development and denitrification fluxes. The model results indicate that the cavity spacer filaments, which rest on the bottom membranes, cause uneven biofilm growth. Most biofilm resided on the bottom membranes, only in the wake of the filaments where low shear zones formed. In this way, filament configuration may help achieve a desired biofilm thickness. For the conditions tested in this study, the highest nitrate fluxes were attained by minimizing the filament diameter and maximizing the filament spacing. This lowered the shear stress at the top membranes, allowing for more biofilm growth. For the scenarios studied, biomass limitation at the top membranes hindered performance more significantly than diffusion limitation in the thick biofilms at the bottom membranes. The results also highlighted the importance of two-dimensional modeling to capture uneven biofilm growth on a substratum with geometrical complexity.

Assessing Microbial Competition in a Hydrogen-Based Membrane Biofilm Reactor (MBfR) Using Multidimensional Modeling

The membrane biofilm reactor (MBfR) is a novel technology that safely delivers hydrogen to the base of a denitrifying biofilm via gas‐supplying membranes. While hydrogen is an effective electron donor for denitrifying bacteria (DNB), it also supports sulfate‐reducing bacteria (SRB) and methanogens (MET), which consume hydrogen and create undesirable by‐products. SRB and MET are only competitive for hydrogen when local nitrate concentrations are low, therefore SRB and MET primarily grow near the base of the biofilm. In an MBfR, hydrogen concentrations are greatest at the base of the biofilm, making SRB and MET more likely to proliferate in an MBfR system than a conventional biofilm reactor. Modeling results showed that because of this, control of the hydrogen concentration via the intramembrane pressure was a key tool for limiting SRB and MET development. Another means is biofilm management, which supported both sloughing and erosive detachment. For the conditions simulated, maintaining thinner biofilms promoted higher denitrification fluxes and limited the presence of SRB and MET. The 2‐d modeling showed that periodic biofilm sloughing helped control slow‐growing SRB and MET. Moreover, the rough (non‐flat) membrane assembly in the 2‐d model provided a special niche for SRB and MET that was not represented in the 1‐d model. This study compared 1‐d and 2‐d biofilm model applicability for simulating competition in counter‐diffusional biofilms. Although more computationally expensive, the 2‐d model captured important mechanisms unseen in the 1‐d model. Biotechnol. Bioeng. 2015;112: 1843–1853.

Evidence of specialized bromate-reducing bacteria in a hollow fiber membrane biofilm reactor

Bromate is a carcinogenic disinfection by-product formed from bromide during ozonation or advanced oxidation. We previously observed bromate reduction in a hydrogen-based, denitrifying hollow fiber membrane biofilm reactor (MBfR). In this research, we investigated the potential existence of specialized bromate-reducing bacteria. Using denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE), we compared the microbial ecology of two denitrifying MBfRs, one amended with nitrate as the electron acceptor and the other with nitrate plus bromate. The DGGE results showed that bromate exerted a selective pressure for a putative, specialized bromate-reducing bacterium, which developed a strong presence only in the reactor with bromate. To gain further insight into the capabilities of specialized, bromate-reducing bacteria, we explored bromate reduction in a control MBfR without any primary electron acceptors. A grown biofilm in the control MBfR reduced bromate without previous exposure, but the rate of reduction decreased over time, especially after perturbations resulting in biomass loss. The decrease in bromate reduction may have been the result of the toxic effects of bromate. We also used batch tests of the perchlorate-reducing pure culture, Dechloromonas sp. PC1 to test bromate reduction and growth. Bromate was reduced without measurable growth. Based on these results, we speculate bromates selective pressure for the putative, specialized BRB observed in the DGGE was not growth related, but possibly based on resistance to bromate toxicity.

A methodology to assess the effects of biofilm roughness on substrate fluxes using image analysis, substrate profiling, and mathematical modelling.

We present a novel approach, based on image analysis and modelling, to study the impact of morphological variability (roughness) and fluid dynamics on substrate mass fluxes in biofilms. Specifically, we used this method to assess substrate fluxes in counter-diffusional autotrophic biofilms in a hydrogen-based membrane biofilm reactor. The physical structure of the biofilm was determined in situ at the meso-scale using stereomicroscopy. Image analysis was used to characterize the biofilm structure, and substrate profiles were obtained using microsensors. A two-dimensional, continuum biofilm model including microbial reactions, mass transport, and fluid dynamics was developed to compute substrate conversion in irregularly shaped counter-diffusional biofilms. Experimental biofilm structures were reproduced in the model and simulated under the prevailing substrate and hydrodynamic conditions for flow velocities varied over three orders of magnitude. Model calculations were consistent with experimental results and showed enhanced conversion rates with increased roughness at higher flow velocities. Also, modelling showed that conversion rates in counter-diffusional biofilms were typically higher than in co-diffusional biofilms. This study highlights the potential to use a simple image acquisition approach coupled to a theoretical model, to evaluate biofilm overall substrate utilization related to biofilm morphological heterogeneity.