Modeling of Wastewater Treatment Processes in Membrane Bioreactors Compared to Conventional Activated Sludge Systems

Abstract

Membrane techniques constitute an interesting alternative to conventional activated sludge systems (CAS). In membrane bioreactors (MBR), the biomass separated on membranes is retained independently of sludge sedimentation properties. As a consequence, a high biomass concentration as well as low food to microorganisms ratio can be obtained. Moreover, the development of a characteristic activated sludge population is stimulated by the specific conditions prevailing in MBRs. In the study, the operation and treatment efficiency of the MBR and CAS processes were examined and compared. Simulation was performed with the use of GPS-X software. The effluent quality obtained for the MBR system was either better or comparable to that of CAS. The most significant difference concerned the elimination of total suspended solids, which amounted to 99.8% in the MBR. Regarding nutrients, a low concentration of total phosphorus in the effluent from CAS and MBR was obtained (0.67 gP m−3 and 0.50 gP m−3, respectively). Greater differences were achieved in the case of total nitrogen. Although almost complete nitrification took place in both systems, a lower concentration of nitrate in the effluent from MBR in comparison to CAS, i.e., 11.2 gN m−3 and 14.1 gN m−3, respectively, allowed us to obtain a higher removal of total nitrogen (80.8% and 76.1%, respectively).

Filtration Performances of Different Polysaccharides in Microfiltration Process

“…With the increasing population in the world, there is also an increasing demand for the quantity and quality of clean water and many techniques are explored to deal with this issue [1][2][3][4][5]. Membrane technology has provided a great solution for water treatment [6][7][8]. In the recent years, membrane technology has become a promising technology due to some advantages over the conventional methods such as coagulation, sedimentation, and clarification processes [9].…”

Combining the project‐based learning methodology and computer simulation to enhance the engagement in the context of Environmental Engineering courses

“…This survey is common despite being a technological or a humanistic course, obtaining too general questions. Trying to draw a parallel between these queries and a more formal and homogeneous tool to evaluate the engagement, these questions could be classified as the evaluation of attention (Question 1), relevance (Questions 2, 3 and 4) and satisfaction (5), three of the four aspects assessed in the ARCS model [21]. Data shown in Table 1 correspond to the average results given by 23 students for 2014-2015.…”

“…[12,34] and wastewater treatment processes (GPS-X, Hysys, etc.) [5]. This study exposes the most relevant results and conclusions obtained after implementing the use of GPS-X software to develop team projects as the core tool in the Environmental Engineering course, trying to stimulate the learning process of master's students.…”

Ceramic Microfiltration Membranes in Wastewater Treatment: Filtration Behavior, Fouling and Prevention

“…Another main contaminant is natural organic matter (NOM), synthetic detergents, nutrients such as phosphate and ammonia, heavy metals (HM), coliform bacteria as well as other microorganisms. NOM is a complex mixture of compounds including fulvic acid, humic acid (HA) [7] and humin formed through decay of plant and animal material in nature and is present in numerous sources. It is composed of a range of small, low molecular weight species such as carboxylic amino acids and proteins and larger, higher molecular weight species (from 0.5-30 kDa) such as humic and fulvic acids in high concentrations [8].…”