Pilot-scale anaerobic submerged membrane bioreactor (AnSMBR) treating municipal wastewater: the fouling phenomenon and long-term operation

2011 ◽  
Vol 64 (9) ◽  
pp. 1804-1811 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. Martinez-Sosa ◽  
B. Helmreich ◽  
T. Netter ◽  
S. Paris ◽  
F. Bischof ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Membrane Bioreactor ◽  
Municipal Wastewater ◽  
Biomass Concentration ◽  
Pilot Scale ◽  
Transmembrane Pressure ◽  
Cleaning Efficiency ◽  
Operational Conditions ◽  
Term Operation ◽  
Submerged Membrane Bioreactor ◽  
The Stability

An anaerobic submerged membrane bioreactor (AnSMBR) on pilot-scale treating a mixture composed of municipal wastewater and glucose under mesophilic temperature conditions was operated for 206 days. The performance of the AnSMBR was evaluated at different fluxes, biomass concentrations and gas sparging velocities (GSV). GSV was used to control fouling. In addition, the AnSMBR was operated in cycles that included relaxation and backwashing phases. The increase in the transmembrane pressure (fouling rate) was measured under different operational conditions and was used to evaluate the stability of the process. The fouling rate could be controlled for a long period of time at a flux of 7 l m−2 h−1 with a GSV of 62 m/h and an average biomass concentration of 14.8 g TSS/L. The membrane was physically cleaned after 156 days of operation. The cleaning efficiency was almost 100% indicating that no irreversible fouling was developed inside the pores of the membrane. The COD removal efficiency was close to 90%. As in anaerobic processes, nutrients were not exposed to degradation and almost no pathogens were found in the effluent, hence the effluent could be used for irrigation in agriculture.

scholarly journals Microbiological and physicochemical evaluation of the effluent quality in a membrane bioreactor system to meet the legislative limits for wastewater reuse

2017 ◽  
Vol 76 (7) ◽  
pp. 1796-1804 ◽  
Author(s):  
Konstantinos Azis ◽  
Charalampos Vardalachakis ◽  
Spyridon Ntougias ◽  
Paraschos Melidis
Keyword(s):  
Membrane Bioreactor ◽  
Municipal Wastewater ◽  
Wastewater Reuse ◽  
Oxygen Demand ◽  
Pilot Scale ◽  
Transmembrane Pressure ◽  
Permeate Flux ◽  
Effluent Quality ◽  
Mediterranean Countries

The aim of this study was to assess the efficacy and effluent quality of a pilot-scale intermittently aerated and fed, externally submerged membrane bioreactor (MBRes) treating municipal wastewater. The effluent quality of the MBRes was evaluated regarding system ability to comply with the Greek legislative limits for restricted and unrestricted wastewater reuse. The average permeate flux was 13.9 L m−2 h−1, while the transmembrane pressure remained above the level of −110 mbar. Experimental data showed that biochemical oxygen demand, chemical oxygen demand, total nitrogen, PO43−- P and total suspended solids removal efficiencies were 97.8, 93.1, 89.6, 93.2 and 100%, respectively, whereas turbidity was reduced by 94.1%. Total coliforms and Escherichia coli were fully eliminated by ultrafiltration and disinfection methods, such as chlorination and ultraviolet radiation. In agreement with the Greek legislation (Joint Ministerial Decree 145116/11) and the guidelines recommended for the Mediterranean countries, the disinfected effluent of the MBRes system can be safely reused directly for urban purposes.

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
Keyword(s):  
Microbial Community ◽  
Retention Time ◽  
Membrane Bioreactor ◽  
Municipal Wastewater ◽  
Hydraulic Retention Time ◽  
Oxygen Demand ◽  
Pilot Scale ◽  
Municipal Wastewater Treatment ◽  
Term Operation ◽  
Anaerobic Membrane Bioreactor

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.

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