scholarly journals A pilot-scale anaerobic membrane bioreactor under short hydraulic retention time for municipal wastewater treatment: performance and microbial community identification

2017 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 58-67 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiaojie Mei ◽  
Zhiwei Wang ◽  
Yan Miao ◽  
Zhichao Wu

Abstract Anaerobic membrane bioreactor (AnMBR) processes are a promising method of recovering energy from municipal wastewater. In this study, a pilot-scale AnMBR with extremely short hydraulic retention time (HRT = 2.2 h) was operated at a flux of 6 L/(m2h) for 340 days without any membrane cleaning. The average value achieved for chemical oxygen demand (COD) removal was 87% and for methane yield was 0.12 L CH4/gCODremoved. Based on mass balance analysis, it was found that about 30% of total influent COD was used for methane conversion, 15% of COD for sulfate reduction, 10% for biomass growth and 10–20% of COD remained in the effluent. Microbial community analyses indicated that seasonal changes of feedwater (in terms of organic components and temperature) led to the variations of microbial community structures. Among the bacterial communities, Chloroflexi, Proteobacteria and Bacteroidetes were the three most predominant phyla. In the archaeal consortia, WCHA1-57 and Methanobacterium surpassed Methanosaeta and Methanolinea to become the predominant methanogens during the long-term operation of short HRT. The sulfate-reducing bacteria, accounting for less than 2% of total abundance of bacteria, might not be the dominant competitor against methanogens.

2017 ◽  
Vol 77 (3) ◽  
pp. 714-720 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. C. Leyva-Díaz ◽  
A. Rodríguez-Sánchez ◽  
J. González-López ◽  
J. M. Poyatos

Abstract A membrane bioreactor (MBR) and a hybrid moving bed biofilm reactor-membrane bioreactor (hybrid MBBR-MBR) for municipal wastewater treatment were studied to determine the effect of salinity on nitrogen removal and autotrophic kinetics. The biological systems were analyzed during the start-up phase with a hydraulic retention time (HRT) of 6 h, total biomass concentration of 2,500 mg L−1 in the steady state, and electric conductivities of 1.05 mS cm−1 for MBR and hybrid MBBR-MBR working under regular salinity and conductivity variations of 1.2–6.5 mS cm−1 for MBR and hybrid MBBR-MBR operating at variable salinity. The variable salinity affected the autotrophic biomass, which caused a reduction of the nitrogen degradation rate, an increase of time to remove ammonium from municipal wastewater and longer duration of the start-up phase for the MBR and hybrid MBBR-MBR.


Membranes ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (12) ◽  
pp. 967
Author(s):  
Yerkanat N. Kanafin ◽  
Dinara Kanafina ◽  
Simos Malamis ◽  
Evina Katsou ◽  
Vassilis J. Inglezakis ◽  
...  

Currently, there is growing scientific interest in the development of more economic, efficient and environmentally friendly municipal wastewater treatment technologies. Laboratory and pilot-scale surveys have revealed that the anaerobic membrane bioreactor (AnMBR) is a promising alternative for municipal wastewater treatment. Anaerobic membrane bioreactor technology combines the advantages of anaerobic processes and membrane technology. Membranes retain colloidal and suspended solids and provide complete solid–liquid separation. The slow-growing anaerobic microorganisms in the bioreactor degrade the soluble organic matter, producing biogas. The low amount of produced sludge and the production of biogas makes AnMBRs favorable over conventional biological treatment technologies. However, the AnMBR is not yet fully mature and challenging issues remain. This work focuses on fundamental aspects of AnMBRs in the treatment of municipal wastewater. The important parameters for AnMBR operation, such as pH, temperature, alkalinity, volatile fatty acids, organic loading rate, hydraulic retention time and solids retention time, are discussed. Moreover, through a comprehensive literature survey of recent applications from 2009 to 2021, the current state of AnMBR technology is assessed and its limitations are highlighted. Finally, the need for further laboratory, pilot- and full-scale research is addressed.


2006 ◽  
Vol 53 (11) ◽  
pp. 269-276 ◽  
Author(s):  
C.T. Hay ◽  
D.D. Sun ◽  
S.L. Khor ◽  
J.O. Leckie

A high strength industrial wastewater was treated using a pilot scale submerged membrane bioreactor (MBR) at a sludge retention time (SRT) of 200 d. The MBR was operated at a high sludge concentration of 20 g/L and a low F/M ratio of 0.11 during 300 d of operation. It was found that the MBR could achieve COD and TOC overall removal efficiencies at more than 99 and 98% TN removal. The turbidity of the permeate was consistently in the range of 0.123 to 0.136 NTU and colour254 absorbance readings varied from 0.0912 to 0.0962 a.u. cm−1. The sludge concentration was inversely proportional to the hydraulic retention time (HRT), yielded excellent organic removal and extremely low sludge production (0.0016 kgVSS/day).


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