Abstract: “The most serious drawback in wastewater treatment using membrane bioreactors (MBRs) is membrane fouling, which gradually leads to membrane permeability decrease and efficiency deterioration. This work is part of a research project that aims to develop an integrated methodology for membrane fouling control, using specific chemicals which enhance the coagulation and flocculation of compounds responsible for fouling, hence reducing biofilm formation on the membrane surface and limiting the fouling rate acting as a pre-treatment step. For this purpose, a pilotscale plant with fully automatic operation achieved by means of programmable logic controller (PLC) has been constructed and tested. The experimental set-up consists of four units: wastewater feed unit, bioreactor, membrane (side-stream) filtration unit and permeate collection unit. Synthetic wastewater (BOD=1000 mg/L) was fed as the substrate for the activated sludge (F/M=0.2 kg BOD/kg MLVSS∙d). The dissolved oxygen (DO) concentratio”

Keywords: coagulation, membrane bioreactors, membrane fouling, pilot plant