Biodegradation of Emerging Pharmaceuticals from Domestic Wastewater by Membrane Bioreactor: The Effect of Solid Retention Time

Although conventional biological treatment plants can remove basic pollutants, they are ineffective at removing recalcitrant pollutants. Membrane bioreactors contain promising technology and have the advantages of better effluent quality and lower sludge production compared to those of conventional biological treatment processes. In this study, the removal of pharmaceutical compounds by membrane bioreactors under different solid retention times (SRTs) was investigated. To study the effect of SRT on the removal of emerging pharmaceuticals, the levels of pharmaceuticals were measured over 96 days for the following retention times: 20, 30, and 40-day SRT. It was found that the 40-day SRT had the optimum performance in terms of the pharmaceuticals’ elimination. The removal efficiencies of the chemical oxygen demand (COD) for each selected SRT were higher than 96% at steady-state conditions. The highest degradation efficiency was observed for paracetamol. Paracetamol was the most removed compound followed by ranitidine, atenolol, bezafibrate, diclofenac, and carbamazepine. The microbial community at the phylum level was also analyzed to understand the biodegradability of pharmaceuticals. It was noticed that the Proteobacteria phylum increased from 46.8% to 60.0% after 96 days with the pharmaceuticals. The Actinobacteria class, which can metabolize paracetamol, carbamazepine, and atenolol, was also increased from 9.1% to 17.9% after adding pharmaceuticals. The by-products of diclofenac, bezafibrate, and carbamazepine were observed in the effluent samples.

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Comparative study of membrane bioreactor (MBR) and activated sludge processes in the treatment of Moroccan domestic wastewater

Water Science & Technology ◽

10.2166/wst.2018.384 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 78 (5) ◽

pp. 1129-1136 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

S. Kitanou ◽

M. Tahri ◽

B. Bachiri ◽

M. Mahi ◽

M. Hafsi ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Activated Sludge ◽

Membrane Bioreactor ◽

Ceramic Membrane ◽

Oxygen Demand ◽

Domestic Wastewater ◽

Pilot Scale ◽

Quality Parameters ◽

Effluent Quality ◽

Conventional Activated Sludge ◽

Activated Sludge Processes

Abstract The study was based on an external pilot-scale membrane bioreactor (MBR) with a ceramic membrane compared to a conventional activated sludge process (ASP) plant. Both systems received their influent from domestic wastewater. The MBR produced an effluent of much better quality than the ASP in terms of total suspended solids (TSS), 5-day biological oxygen demand (BOD5) and chemical oxygen demand (COD), total phosphorus (TP) and total nitrogen (TN). Other effluent quality parameters also indicated substantial differences between the ASP and the MBR. This study leads to the conclusion that in the case of domestic wastewater, MBR treatment leads to excellent effluent quality. Hence, the replacement of ASP by MBR may be justified on the basis of the improved removal of solids, nutrients, and micropollutants. Furthermore, in terms of reuse the high quality of the treated water allows it to be reused for irrigation.

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Effects of solid retention time on the performance of submerged anoxic/oxic membrane bioreactor

Water Science & Technology ◽

10.2166/wst.2006.162 ◽

2006 ◽

Vol 53 (6) ◽

pp. 7-13 ◽

Cited By ~ 8

Author(s):

H.Y. Ng ◽

T.W. Tan ◽

S.L. Ong ◽

C.A. Toh ◽

Z.P. Loo

Keyword(s):

Retention Time ◽

Membrane Fouling ◽

Membrane Bioreactor ◽

Domestic Wastewater ◽

Membrane Bioreactors ◽

Complete Conversion ◽

Solid Retention Time ◽

Solids Retention ◽

Nitrogen Concentrations ◽

Removal Efficiencies

In this study, four similar bench-scale submerged Anoxic/Oxic Membrane Bioreactors (MBR) were used simultaneously to investigate the effects of solids retention time (SRT) on organic and nitrogen removal in MBR for treating domestic wastewater. COD removal efficiencies in all reactors were consistently above 94% under steady state conditions. Complete conversion of NH4+-N to NO3--N was readily achieved over a feed NH4+-N concentration range of 30 to 50 mg/L. It was also observed that SRT did not significantly affect the nitrification in the MBR systems investigated. The average denitrification efficiencies for the 3, 5, 10 and 20 days SRT operations were 43.9, 32.6, 47.5 and 66.5%, respectively. In general, the average effluent nitrogen concentrations, which were mainly nitrate, were about 22.2, 27.6, 21.7 and 13.9 mg/L for the 3, 5, 10 and 20 days SRT systems, respectively. The rate of membrane fouling at 3 days SRT operation was more rapid than that observed at 5 days SRT. No fouling was noted in the 10 days and 20 days SRT systems during the entire period of study.

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Domestic wastewater treatment with a small-scale membrane bioreactor

Water Science & Technology ◽

10.2166/wst.2006.077 ◽

2006 ◽

Vol 53 (3) ◽

pp. 69-78 ◽

Cited By ~ 13

Author(s):

C. Abegglen ◽

H. Siegrist

Keyword(s):

Membrane Bioreactor ◽

Control Strategies ◽

Oxygen Demand ◽

Domestic Wastewater ◽

Phosphate Removal ◽

Small Scale ◽

First Year ◽

Effluent Quality ◽

Domestic Wastewater Treatment ◽

And Control

A small-scale membrane plant for treating the domestic wastewater of a four-person household is presented. The membrane bioreactor has been in operation for 6 months and achieves elimination rates of 90, 95 and 80% for total organic carbon, chemical oxygen demand and total nitrogen, respectively. Only a small amount sludge is produced. The permeate is reused for flushing toilets and has a yellowish colour. After investigations of the effluent quality, decolourisation of the permeate, energy efficiency and control strategies in the first year, urine will be treated separately in an automated precipitation reactor where struvite is produced to improve the overall phosphate removal of the plant.

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Five years operation of a decentralized membrane bioreactor package plant treating domestic wastewater

Water Practice & Technology ◽

10.2166/wpt.2014.024 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 9 (2) ◽

pp. 206-214 ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

C. S. Tai ◽

J. Snider-Nevin ◽

J. Dragasevich ◽

J. Kempson

Keyword(s):

Wastewater Treatment ◽

Membrane Bioreactor ◽

Water Discharge ◽

Treatment Plant ◽

Oxygen Demand ◽

Domestic Wastewater ◽

Surface Discharge ◽

Small Community ◽

Effluent Quality ◽

Decentralized Wastewater Treatment

Membrane bioreactor (MBR) package systems are providing affordable and simple-to-use decentralized wastewater treatment solutions for small to medium sized communities that face the challenge of balancing environmental and regulatory responsibilities with budgetary limitations. With a greater confidence and understanding of MBR technology, there is an increasing incentive in using MBR technology for these types of applications. Furthermore, valued qualities such as compact footprint, quick installation and start-up, process reliability, ease of operation, and superior effluent quality suitable for direct surface discharge and water reclamation have made MBR package system a preferred solution for decentralized wastewater treatment applications. This paper presents a retrofit solution for the Whitehouse Terrace Wastewater Treatment Plant. The existing extended aeration activated sludge package plant was retrofitted with a pre-engineered newterra MicroClearTM MBR package system for a small community along St Lawrence River in Brockville, Ontario. Five years full scale operation data of the MBR package system is presented and it is evident that the MBR package system consistently delivered high quality effluent that is far better than the required limit for direct surface water discharge to the St. Lawrence's river, with average effluent quality of 2.4, 2.6, 0.5, 0.05 mg/L, 1.7 counts/100 mL and 7.4 for biochemical oxygen demand, TSS, TP, TAN, Escherichia coli and pH, respectively.

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The Characteristics of Community Wastewater Biological Treatment Processes in Taiwan

Water Science & Technology ◽

10.2166/wst.1986.0300 ◽

1986 ◽

Vol 18 (7-8) ◽

pp. 289-296

Author(s):

C. F. Ouyang ◽

T. J. Wan

Keyword(s):

Biological Treatment ◽

Wastewater Treatment Plants ◽

Oxygen Demand ◽

Field Investigation ◽

Oxidation Ditch ◽

Trickling Filter ◽

Rotating Biological Contactor ◽

Treatment Processes ◽

Treatment Characteristics ◽

Sludge Thickening

This study investigated and compared the treatment characteristics of three different kinds of biological wastewater treatment plants (including rotating biological contactor, trickling filter and oxidation ditch) which are currently operated in Taiwan. The field investigation of this study concentrated on the following items: the performance of biological oxygen demand (BOD) and suspended solids (SS) removal; the sludge yield rate of BOD removal; the settleability of sludge solids; the properties of sludge thickening; the power consumption and land area requirement per unit volume of wastewater. Finally, based on the results of the field investigation, a comparison of the treatment characteristics of the three different biological treatment processes was evaluated.

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Semicentralized greywater and blackwater treatment for fast growing cities: how uncertain influent characteristics might affect the treatment processes

Water Science & Technology ◽

10.2166/wst.2017.047 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 75 (7) ◽

pp. 1722-1731 ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

J. Tolksdorf ◽

P. Cornel

Keyword(s):

Treatment Plant ◽

Oxygen Demand ◽

Flexible Design ◽

Model Calculations ◽

Effluent Quality ◽

Fast Growing ◽

Treatment Processes ◽

Reference Plant ◽

Design Values ◽

Pr China

The SEMIZENTRAL infrastructure approach has been developed for fast growing cities, to meet their challenges regarding water supply as well as biowaste and wastewater (WW) treatment. The world's first full-scale SEMIZENTRAL Resource Recovery reference plant has been implemented in Qingdao (PR China). Greywater (GW) and blackwater (BW) are collected and treated separately. Measurement of influent concentrations revealed significant differences, compared with the design values. Values from the literature for GW and BW characteristics vary more markedly than for municipal WW; recommended design values are still lacking. Moreover, cross-connections between GW and BW can influence the influent characteristics considerably. Consequences for the design of GW and BW treatment are evaluated for boundary conditions, which require high effluent quality for both treatment modules. Model calculations illustrate the significant influence of uncertain WW characteristics on the required aeration basin volume and oxygen demand for GW and BW treatment; however, uncertainties are considerably reduced for the combination of these modules. Thus, a flexible design of the treatment plant is required. A possible concept for such a design is presented.

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Short investigation on occurrence and removal of semivolatiles during wastewater treatment processes

Romanian Journal of Ecology & Environmental Chemistry ◽

10.21698/rjeec.2021.216 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 3 (2) ◽

pp. 130-140

Author(s):

Maria Diana Puiu ◽

Keyword(s):

Wastewater Treatment ◽

Organic Contaminants ◽

Biological Treatment ◽

Organic Matter Content ◽

Treatment Plant ◽

Oxygen Demand ◽

Matter Content ◽

Physical Treatment ◽

Dissolved Air Flotation ◽

Treatment Processes

The food industry wastewater is known to present a high organic matter content, due to specific raw materials and processing activities. Even if these compounds are not directly toxic to the environment, high concentrations in effluents could represent a source of pollution as discharges of high biological oxygen demand may impact receiving river's ecosystems. Identifying the main organic contaminants in wastewater samples represents the first step in establishing the optimum treatment method. The sample analysis for the non-target compounds through the GC-MS technique highlights, along with other analytical parameters, the efficiency of the main physical and biological treatment steps of the middle-size Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP). Long-chain fatty acids and their esters were the main abundant classes of non-target identified compounds. The highest intensity detection signal was reached by n-hexadecanoic acid or palmitic acid, a component of palm oil, after the physical treatment processes with dissolved air flotation, and by 1-octadecanol after biological treatment.

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When the smoke disappears: dealing with extinguishing chemicals in firefighting wastewater

Water Science & Technology ◽

10.2166/wst.2014.081 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 69 (8) ◽

pp. 1720-1727 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

E. N. P. Courtens ◽

F. Meerburg ◽

V. Mausen ◽

S. E. Vlaeminck

Keyword(s):

Nitrogen Removal ◽

Biological Treatment ◽

Suspended Solids ◽

Oxygen Demand ◽

Batch Tests ◽

Treatment Processes ◽

Anammox Activity ◽

Cost Calculations ◽

Fire Extinction ◽

Adequate Nutrient

Water is not enough. Nowadays, numerous chemicals are used for fire extinction. After use, however, these may unintentionally enter sewerage systems. In order to safely treat firefighting wastewater (FFWW), knowledge of the potential effects of these chemicals on biological treatment processes is essential. This study characterized and mimicked the composition of FFWW containing two powders, three foams and one foam degrader. Nitrogen (162–370 mg NH4+-N L−1) and phosphorus (173–320 mg PO43−-P L−1) concentrations exceeded discharge limits, whereas chemical and biological oxygen demand, suspended solids and detergent concentrations remained sufficiently low. Adequate nutrient removal could be obtained through FeCl3 addition and nitrification/denitrification with acetate as substrate. In batch tests, residual nitrifying activities of 84, 81, 89, 95 and 93% were observed in the presence of powders, foams, foam degrader, synthetic and real FFWW, respectively. All categories showed higher denitrification rates than the control. Although the powders at first seemed to inhibit anammox activity at 82%, after pH correction anammox was fully feasible, allowing nitrogen removal through oxygen-limited nitrification/denitrification (OLAND). Detailed cost calculations indicated that OLAND could save 11% of capital and 68% of operational costs compared to nitrification/denitrification, identifying OLAND as the most recommendable process for nitrogen removal from firefighting wastewaters.

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Innovative Biological Treatment Processes for Wastewater in Canada

Water Quality Research Journal ◽

10.2166/wqrj.2003.018 ◽

2003 ◽

Vol 38 (2) ◽

pp. 243-265 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Catherine N. Mulligan ◽

Bernard F. Gibbs

Keyword(s):

Biological Treatment ◽

Waste Treatment ◽

Oil Spills ◽

Metal Removal ◽

Oxygen Demand ◽

High Rate ◽

Future Research ◽

New Developments ◽

Treatment Processes ◽

Stage Of Development

Abstract Biological treatment of wastewater has been employed successfully for many types of industries. Aerobic processes have been used extensively. Production of large amounts of sludge is the main problem and methods such as biofilters and membrane bioreactors are being developed to combat this phenomenon. Anaerobic waste treatment has undergone significant developments and is now reliable with low retention times. The UASB, the original high rate anaerobic reactor, is now becoming less popular than the EGSB reactor. New developments such as the Annamox process are highly promising for nitrogen removal. For metal removal, processes such as biosorption and biosurfactants combined with ultrafiltration membranes are under development. Biosurfactants have also shown promise as dispersing agents for oil spills. If space is available, wetlands can be used to reduce biological oxygen demand (BOD), total suspended solids (TSS), nutrients and heavy metals. These innovative processes are described in this paper in terms of applications, the stage of development, and future research needs particular to Canada.

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Removal of pharmaceutical residue in municipal wastewater by DAF (dissolved air flotation)–MBR (membrane bioreactor) and ozone oxidation

Water Science & Technology ◽

10.2166/wst.2012.429 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 66 (12) ◽

pp. 2546-2555 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Miyoung Choi ◽

Dong Whan Choi ◽

Jung Yeol Lee ◽

Young Suk Kim ◽

Bun Su Kim ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Wastewater Treatment ◽

Membrane Bioreactor ◽

Municipal Wastewater ◽

Removal Rate ◽

Oxygen Demand ◽

Ozone Oxidation ◽

Dissolved Air Flotation ◽

Treatment Processes ◽

Pharmaceutical Residue ◽

Dissolved Air

Growing attention is given to pharmaceutical residue in the water environment. It is known that pharmaceuticals are able to survive from a series of wastewater treatment processes. Concerns regarding pharmaceutical residues are attributed to the fact that they are being detected in water and sediment environment ubiquitously. Pharmaceutical treatment using a series of wastewater treatment processes of the DAF (dissolved air flotation)–MBR (membrane bioreactor)–ozone oxidation was conducted in the study. DAF, without addition of coagulant, could remove CODcr (chemical oxygen demand by Cr) up to over 70%, BOD 73%, SS 83%, T-N 55%, NH4+ 23%, and T-P 65% in influent of municipal wastewater. Average removal rates of water quality parameters by the DAF–MBR system were very high, e.g. CODcr 95.88%, BOD5 99.66%, CODmn (chemical oxygen demand by Mn) 93.63%, T-N 69.75%, NH4-N 98.46%, T-P 78.23%, and SS 99.51%, which satisfy effluent water quality standards. Despite the high removal rate of the wastewater treatment system, pharmaceuticals were eliminated to be about 50–99% by the MBR system, depending on specific pharmaceuticals. Ibuprofen was well removed by MBR system up to over 95%, while removal rate of bezafibrate ranged between 50 and 90%. With over 5 mg/l of ozone oxidation, most pharmaceuticals which survived the DAF–MBR process were removed completely or resulted in very low survival rate within the range of few micrograms per litre. However, some pharmaceuticals such as bezafibrate and naproxen tended to be resistant to ozone oxidation.

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