ZL
Z. Louchahi
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1
Journal article
(2026)
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Emile Sylvestre, Zaineb Louchahi, Anne Vescovi, Eva Reynaert, Shwetha Manohar Nayagar, Eberhard Morgenroth, Timothy R. Julian
Safe use of treated greywater requires effective control of enteric viruses, yet there is limited full-scale evidence on virus removal in membrane-based greywater treatment systems. We performed monthly challenge tests with MS2 bacteriophage, a commonly used conservative surrogate for enteric viruses, over one year in a full-scale membrane bioreactor (MBR) treating light greywater and equipped with ultrafiltration modules (nominal pore size 0.04 μm). Observed log10 removal values (LRVs) ranged from 1.0 to 3.4, substantially lower than ∼4.0 LRVs previously reported for a comparable MBR treating municipal wastewater. LRVs were lowest (∼1.0–1.5) in the weeks following chemical cleaning and increased only modestly during operation, consistent with limited fouling development under low flux conditions (2–8 L m−2 h−1). Scanning electron microscopy (SEM)-based pore size analysis of the pristine ultrafiltration membrane indicated a broad distribution with an upper tail extending to ∼85 nm. Using this measured pore size distribution as input, a mechanistic sieving model predicted a size-exclusion-only LRV of ∼0.5 for MS2-sized particles, providing a mechanistic baseline consistent with measured LRVs observed at full-scale post-cleaning. Overall, these results underscore the need for full-scale validation of greywater MBRs and show that membrane specifications on pore size distribution are needed to support more accurate predictions of virus LRVs in membrane-based greywater treatment applications.
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Safe use of treated greywater requires effective control of enteric viruses, yet there is limited full-scale evidence on virus removal in membrane-based greywater treatment systems. We performed monthly challenge tests with MS2 bacteriophage, a commonly used conservative surrogate for enteric viruses, over one year in a full-scale membrane bioreactor (MBR) treating light greywater and equipped with ultrafiltration modules (nominal pore size 0.04 μm). Observed log10 removal values (LRVs) ranged from 1.0 to 3.4, substantially lower than ∼4.0 LRVs previously reported for a comparable MBR treating municipal wastewater. LRVs were lowest (∼1.0–1.5) in the weeks following chemical cleaning and increased only modestly during operation, consistent with limited fouling development under low flux conditions (2–8 L m−2 h−1). Scanning electron microscopy (SEM)-based pore size analysis of the pristine ultrafiltration membrane indicated a broad distribution with an upper tail extending to ∼85 nm. Using this measured pore size distribution as input, a mechanistic sieving model predicted a size-exclusion-only LRV of ∼0.5 for MS2-sized particles, providing a mechanistic baseline consistent with measured LRVs observed at full-scale post-cleaning. Overall, these results underscore the need for full-scale validation of greywater MBRs and show that membrane specifications on pore size distribution are needed to support more accurate predictions of virus LRVs in membrane-based greywater treatment applications.