Optimization of Oily Wastewater Membrane Bioreactor Treatment: Pilot to Full Scale Results

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The ideal bioreactor configuration for treatment of organic or inorganic contaminants present in industrial wastewaters or other aqueous streams, will operate efficiently while achieving the design performance objective. Bioreactor systems such as the conventional activated sludge system, sequencing batch reactor systems and trickling filter systems, typically designed for operation at lower volumetric removal rates, are often selected for applications under site conditions where space constraints are not a factor and/or other conditions which render them acceptable. This paper presents a general framework for selecting the optimal bioreactor configuration when site specific conditions dictate reactor efficiency is an important consideration. The approach will be illustrated by full scale case studies involving application of membrane biological reactor (MBR) systems and an integrated fixed film activated sludge (IFAS) system for treatment of different industrial wastewaters, and fluidized bed reactor (FBR) systems for treatment of industrial wastewater and contaminated groundwater.

Section: Figure 1 -Typical Contaminant Concentration Profile In Slicementioning

confidence: 99%

Biological Treatment of Industrial Wastewaters and Other Contaminated Aqueous Streams: Selection of Bioreactor Alternatives

Sutton¹,

Togna²

2005

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“…To overcome this issue at the GM Windsor plant, the original MBR flowsheet was modified to an MBR-aerobic digester flowsheet (Sutton, Mishra, Roberts, Abreu and Gignac, 2001). In the modified flowsheet, the wastewater continues to be treated in an external membrane MBR but 1 of the 2 bioreactors ( Figure 2) was converted to an aerobic digester receiving only waste solids from the MBR.…”

Section: Figure 2 -Gm Windsor Simplified Schematic Of Full Scale Mbr mentioning

confidence: 99%

Membrane Bioreactor Industrial and Municipal Wastewater Applications: Long Term Operating Experience

Sutton¹,

Mishra²,

Bratby³

et al. 2002

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There has been recent widespread interest in the U.S. and other countries in the use of membranes for biomass-effluent separation as an alternative to conventional gravity separation as a component in bioreactor flowsheets for treatment of industrial and municipal wastewaters. Although membrane biological reactors (MBRs) for treatment of wastewaters were introduced over 30 years ago, published information to-date has typically been in the form of short term operational and performance results. Little information has been reported with respect to the longer term unforeseen issues arising when the two unit processes (i.e., suspended growth bioreactor and membrane component) are coupled together. Identification of the issues and their timely resolution through cost-effective engineered solutions based on demonstrated results and/or fundamental process research, are critical if the MBR technology is to represent an attractive alternative to more conventional biological systems in certain applications. The authors have been involved in a number of commercial MBR system projects for industrial and/or municipal wastewater treatment dating back to 1991. These projects resulted in the identification of a number of unanticipated operating issues resulting from the coupling of the bioreactor and the membrane unit operations. Generally the issues are specific to the membrane configuration characterizing the MBR system and the characteristics of the wastewater being treated. External membrane MBRs in which high transmembrane pressure (TMP) and liquid cross-flow velocity are utilized to effect filtration, have proven to be robust and maintenance friendly. The issues most common to internal membrane MBRs in which a low TMP and crossflow velocity are utilized to effect filtration, are generally membrane component related. Tight wastewater screening, and optimization of membrane cleaning equipment and procedures are necessary to reduce manpower maintenance requirements.

“…In the MBR configuration, a high concentration of biomass measured as volatile suspended solids (VSS) (i.e., normally greater than 10 g/l) is achieved by absolute retention of suspended matter with a particle size much smaller than that characterizing a bacterial cell (i.e., typically 0.3 to 0.5 microns) through use of a microfiltration or ultrafiltration membrane unit process. VSS concentration values in excess of 30 g/l have been maintained (Sutton et al, 2001) in external membrane based MBR systems (i.e., membranes located external to the bioreactor, and operated at high cross-flow velocity and transmembrane pressure or TMP values). The bioreactor VSS design concentration selected is normally dictated by membrane efficiency considerations (e.g., membrane permeability).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Membrane Bioreactors for Industrial Wastewater Treatment: Applicability and Selection of Optimal System Configuration

Sutton¹

2006

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The membrane biological reactor (MBR) configuration has proven to be optimal for treatment of many industrial wastewaters when treatment efficiency is an important consideration. Since installation of the first large, U.S., full scale MBR system for industrial wastewater treatment at the General Motors plant in Mansfield, Ohio in the early 1990s, use of membranes for biomasseffluent separation in biological systems has gained wide appeal both in this country and internationally. Industrial applications have ranged from nitrogen removal from food processing wastewaters to use of the technology to deal with complex organics in wastewaters originating from the production of pharmaceuticals and the manufacture of polymeric membrane materials. Historically, low membrane flux, low permeability, limited membrane life and high membrane costs hindered broad application of the MBR technology. The membrane industry, including independent research and development organizations and system suppliers, invested considerable effort to overcome these limitations over the past decade. The result has been a dramatic increase in the number of new commercial system embodiments of the MBR configuration offered by suppliers and a rapid acceleration in the use of the technology for treatment of industrial wastewaters and other aqueous streams.MBR systems can be categorized according to the location of the membrane component. Until recently, the immersed or internal membrane MBR was typically more cost-effective than the external membrane MBR particularly in the treatment of larger wastewater flows. The technical advantages of the external membrane configuration, and recent significant membrane and system design advances resulting in reductions in operating power costs, have translated to broader application of this configuration. External membrane MBRs have recently been designed to treat wastewater flows as high as 3785 m 3 /day.