1988 Volume 14 Issue 6 Pages 818-824
Before filtration tests to apply ceramic membranes to anaerobic fermentation membrane bioreactors, the suspended solids in anaerobic waste were characterized as the feed to the membranes. The anaerobic waste was made from anaerobic digestion of a synthesized waste containing glucose and peptone. The suspended solids were found to consist mainly of methanogenic bacteria and these metabolites. They were spheres 0.05μm in diameter, colli (0.21 μm in diameter) and rods (0.20.7μm ×12μm). When these particles formed a packed layer on the membrane by filtration, particles changed shape due to the filtration pressure. Specific filtration resistance was governed by the salt concentration. The resistance increased with increasing salt concentration. The results were explained by the DLVO theory.