​ An international Workshop on “Resource Recovery from Membrane Biological Reactors (MBRs) - From Laboratory to Pilot Scale” was organized at the Institute of Environmental Sciences & Engineering (IESE-SCEE), National University of Sciences & Technology (NUST) H-12 campus, Islamabad from 31st March to 1st April 2016.

Three international speakers included well known researchers in membrane based technologies. Professor Chung Hak Lee from Seoul National University (South Korea), Professor C. Visvanathan from Asian Institute of Technology (Thailand), and Professor Ismail Koyuncu from Istanbul Technical University (Turkey) along with local speakers delivered key lectures on current and future technologies for membrane based Water and Wastewater treatment. This workshop brought together professionals from various sectors including government, consultancies, development sector, NGOs and academia. During this two day international workshop, the most significant developments in Membrane Bioreactor technology were thoroughly shared and discussed.

Key topics discussed during this two day workshop included use of membranes as an emerging technology for the wastewater treatment and various advancement in this field for minimum energy consumption and better and safe water usage according to internationally accepted standards.

The workshop was initiated by Professor Lee where he gave his insight on the use of Quorum Quenching (QQ) bacteria in MBR for wastewater treatment. He described the biofilm formation as bacterial communication and better performance of cylindrical bacteria over beads. His insight over the topic was detailed and refined and it was highly beneficial for participants to get the knowledge he has acquired through his cutting edge research. Next, Professor Visvanathan presented the use of membranes for surface water treatment. He comprehensively discussed his knowledge on the evolution of microfiltration and membranes.

Among the last international speakers, Professor Ismail Koyuncu presented his experience of working with Forward Osmosis (FO) technique for water and wastewater treatment. He also shared his knowledge of using FO technique with MBRs followed by Reverse Osmosis (RO) method as an effective design for wastewater treatment.

Among the local speakers, Dr. Sher Jamal Khan and Dr. Zeeshan from IESE-SCEE, NUST, presented their ideas and work pertinent to application and resource recovery from MBRs.

(First row, from left to right) Associate Dean IESE Dr. Imran Hashmi, Professor C. Visvanathan, Professor Ismail Koyuncu and Professor Chung Hak Lee.


A PhD student of IESE-SCEE, NUST presenting a bouquet to Professor C. Visvanathan.
 

Dean SCEE, NUST Dr. S. Muhammad Jamil (left) with Associate Dean IESE Dr. Imran Hashmi (right).
 

Chief Guest of the international workshop Mr. Siddique Khan (Country Representative, WaterAid-Pakistan) receiving an honorary shield from Dr. Sher Jamal Khan (HoD Environmental Engineering, IESE-SCEE, NUST).