Fouling prediction using neural network model for membrane bioreactor system

Abstract

Membrane bioreactor (MBR) technology is a new method for water and wastewater treatment due to its ability to produce better and high-quality effluent that meets water quality regulations. MBR also is an advanced way to displace the conventional activated sludge (CAS) process. Even this membrane gives better performances compared to CAS, it does have few drawbacks such as high maintenance cost and fouling problem. In order to overcome this problem, an optimal MBR plant operation needs to be developed. This can be achieved through an accurate model that can predict the fouling behaviour which could optimise the membrane operation. This paper presents the application of artificial neural network technique to predict the filtration of membrane bioreactor system. The Radial Basis Function Neural Network (RBFNN) is applied to model the developed submerged MBR filtration system. RBFNN model is expected to give good prediction model of filtration system for estimating the fouling that formed during filtration process.