Efficiencies of O-MBR and A/O-MBR for Organic Matter Removal from and Trihalomethane Formation Potential Reduction in Domestic Wastewater

Abstract

Lab-scale anoxic/oxic membrane bioreactor (A/O-MBR) and oxic membrane bioreactor (O-MBR) systems using a submerged polysulfone hollow-fiber membrane module with a pore size of 0.01 μm and a total surface area of 1.50 m2 were used to treat domestic wastewater. The sludge retention time (SRT) of each system was examined by setting the SRT to 10, 20, and infinity (no sludge withdrawal). The results showed that the total nitrogen removal efficiency of the A/O-MBR was more significant than that of the O-MBR at a SRT of infinity, with figures of 72.3% and 33.1% being found, respectively. The COD removal efficiencies of the A/O-MBR system with a SRT of 10 days, 20 days, and infinity were 82.4%, 84.3%, and 91.5%, respectively. The COD removal efficiencies of the O-MBR system with a SRT of 10 days, 20 days, and infinity were 79.3%, 81.5%, and 89.8%, respectively. An increase in the SRT resulted in an increase in the COD removal efficiency. The FEEM peak of the influent tended to decrease after an increase in the SRT for both systems (A/O-MBR and O-MBR). For the A/O-MBR system, the trihalomethane formation potential (THMFP) was significantly reduced by 88.91% (at a SRT of infinity). The THMFP declined significantly by 85.39% for the O-MBR system at a SRT of infinity. The A/O-MBR system showed a slightly higher efficiency than the O-MBR system in terms of the COD removal and the THMFP reduction. These results indicated that the MBR process, and the A/O-MBR system, in particular, could be used as an effective wastewater treatment process for many developing countries that are troubled by the emerging contamination of water and wastewater.

Thermal swing intermittently-operated biological activated carbon filtration for rapid, non-sewered treatment of psychrophilic black water

“…For full-scale implementation of the systems, it is expected that AeMBR and AnMBR performance could be significantly improved ( e.g. , 80–90% COD removal as reported in the literature 26 ) via design optimization ( e.g. , longer SRT).…”

“…[32][33][34] Environmental Science: Water Research & Technology Paper lowest effluent COD levels were observed when TS-IOBAC was applied downstream of an aerobic bioreactor, which were consistently lower than 150 mg L −1 by the last 2 weeks of the 4-week experiment. For full-scale implementation of the systems, it is expected that AeMBR and AnMBR performance could be significantly improved (e.g., 80-90% COD removal as reported in the literature 26 ) via design optimization (e.g., longer SRT). Although design iterations upstream of the TS-IOBAC system were outside the scope of this study, there is a wealth of literature on the design and performance of membrane bioreactors [27][28][29][30][31][32] including the potential for methane recovery from AnMBR and characterization of fugitive gaseous emissions 30,31 that can be considered in the scale-up of an integrated MBR and TS-IOBAC system.…”

Municipal Wastewater Treatment Technologies in Malaysia: A Short Review

“…The process can be designed to handle a wide range of wastewater characteristics, including high-strength and low-strength wastewater. This flexibility allows the MBR process to be used in a wide range of applications, from small-scale decentralized systems to large municipal wastewater treatment plants [16,19]. MBR has been shown to achieve high removal rates for suspended solids, biological oxygen demand (BOD), total nitrogen (TN), and total phosphorus (TP).…”