1. Fluorescence Spectroscopy as a
Monitoring Technique for a MBR
Water Reclamation System
Jeff Scott
11/5/15

2. My name is Jeff!

3. Where we are headed:
•Background
•Water Supply
•Membrane
Bioreactors
•Water Monitoring
Techniques
•Fluorescence
•DOM
•Research Questions
•Preliminary Findings
•Fluorescence EEMS
•Water Quality Data
•State of the Project

4. Water supply has become an increasingly
pressured ecosystem service the last 40yrs.
(MEA, 2005)
Water withdrawals from rivers and lakes
Reservoir storage capacity
We use 40-50% of accessible fresh water
running off land
x2
x4

5. A membrane bioreactor (MBR) is used as a
water reclamation system at Fort Riley, KS.

6. MBRs use biological and physical processes
to restore sewage to useable condition.
http://www.biomicrobics.com/assets/BioBarrier-Owners-Manual-LETTER-current.pdf

7. As treatment improves, there is a need for
more sensitive monitoring technologies.
TOC, pH, turbidity, and EC are widely used
TOC and EC most sensitive
TOC and EC reach detection limits around 5% intrusion
(Henderson et al, 2008)

8. Fluorescence spectroscopy is highly
promising as a monitoring technique.
Sensitive – single fluorescent molecule
Selective – can distinguish sources of contamination
Little pretreatment necessary
(Henderson et al, 2008)

9. Fluorescence spectroscopy uses light
emitted by excited molecules.

10. The fluorescence of wastewater mostly
detects dissolved organic matter (DOM).

11. Excitation-Emission Matrices (EEMS) are
useful for characterizing wastewater.
Peak A – Aromatic Humics
Peak C – Humics
Peak T – Tryptophan-like (protein), bacterial peak
Peak M – Low MW, associated with Marine environs with
biological activity, can be present in WW
Peak B – Tyrosine-like (protein), bacterial, less degraded
material than Peak T
(Fellman, 2010)

12. Excitation-Emission Matrices (EEMS) are
useful for characterizing wastewater.
Indices
Fluorescence Index – Microbially
or Terrestrially Derived DOM (Cory and
McKnight, 2005)
Freshness Index – Recently
produced / Decomposed (Parlanti et al., 2000;
Xenopoulos et al., 2009)
Humification Index – Extent of
humification (Zsolnay et al., 2002; Ohno et al., 2002)
Parallel Factor Analysis (PARAFAC)

13. We collected preliminary data from the
MBR to begin to understand it.
• Flourescence EEMs
• Nutrient data
• Coliform data
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5-Oct 15-Oct 25-Oct 4-Nov
MPN(coliforms)
ppm(NandP)
Date
Totals (Effluent)
Total N Total P Total Coliforms

14. Research Questions
Can Fluorescence spectroscopy detect membrane fouling and
failure in an MBR?
Can fluorescence spectroscopy be used to detect hourly changes
in MBR effluent?
Can an online fluorometer be used to detect membrane fouling /
breach in an MBR?
What can fluorescence spectroscopy tell us about other water
quality parameters?

15. 0.00
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06/17/15 06/27/15 07/07/15 07/17/15
mg/L
Date
NH4-N
NH4-N
After noticing floc, I compared our data to
the MBR’s reported performance.
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06/17/15 06/27/15 07/07/15 07/17/15
mg/L
Date
E. Coli
E. Coli MBR STANDARD

16. Instead of characterizing the state of a
functioning MBR, we were characterizing a
compromised one.

17. Can Fluorescence spectroscopy detect
membrane fouling and failure in an MBR?
Influent Effluent

18. Can fluorescence be used to detect hourly
changes in the MBR effluent?
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800
0 2.5 5 7.5 10 12.5 15 17.5 20 22.5 25 27.5 30
MPN
MPN
Time after filtration
Coliforms (timed experiment)
TC E. Coli
0.00
0.50
1.00
1.50
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0 2.5 5 7.5 10 12.5 15 17.5 20 22.5 25 27.5 30
mg/L
Time after filtration
NH4-N
NH4-N

19. Can the online cyclops fluorometer be used
to detect membrane failure in an MBR?
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6/29/2015 10:43 6/29/2015 10:58 6/29/2015 11:12
RFU
Time
Cyclops Time Data
CDOM (RFU) Trypt (RFU)

20. What can fluorescence spectroscopy tell us
about other water quality parameters?
Peak Parameter Pearson's r Source
T1
PO3 0.8
Baker and Iverarity (2004)
NO3 0.87
BOD 0.906
Hudson et al (2008)
TOC 0.876
T2
BOD 0.85
Baker and Iverarity (2004)NH3 0.7
DO -0.65
TOC 0.802
Hudson et al (2008)
C2
BOD 0.771
TOC 0.87
A
BOD 0.72
TOC 0.808

21. Collecting data from a properly functioning
MBR will help answer these questions.

22. Questions?