Multi-Dimension Scaling as an exploratory tool in the analysis of an immersed membrane bioreactor

This study presents the tests of an Immersed Membrane BioReactor (IMBR) equipped with a draft tube and focuses on the influence of hydrodynamic conditions on membrane fouling in a pilot-scale using a hollow fiber membrane module of ZW-10 under ambient conditions. In this system, the cross-flow velocities across the membrane surface were induced by a cylindrical draft-tube. The relationship between cross-flow velocity and aeration strength and the influence of the cross-flow on fouling rate (under various hydrodynamic conditions) were investigated using Multi-Dimension Scaling (MDS) analysis. MDS technique is especially suitable for samples with many variables and has relatively few observations, as the data about Membrane Bio-Reactor (MBR) often is. Observations and variables are analyzed simultaneously. According to the results, a specialized form of MDS, CoPlot enables presentation of the results in a two dimensional space and when plotting variables ratio (output/input) rather than original data the efficient units can be visualized clearly. The results indicate that: (i) aeration plays an important role in IMBR performance; (ii) implementing the MDS approach with reference to the variables ratio is consequently useful to characterize performance changes for data classification.