Preliminary study testing the effects of tea and coffee on sludge characteristics and N-butyryl-l-homoserine lactone in an MBR system.

Membrane bioreactors (MBRs) are rapidly developing systems widely used for the treatment of municipal and industrial wastewater prior to their discharge into the environment. Membrane fouling is the most important challenge in MBRs, because it negatively affects membrane performance, resulting in low permeate flux, higher transmembrane pressure and frequent membrane cleaning/replacement. In this study, the effect of tea and coffee on sludge characteristics, membrane fouling and the bacterial signalling molecule N-butyryl-l-homoserine lactone C4-HSL) in a membrane bioreactor system were investigated.