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Ensuring the effluent quality despite fluctuations in influent flow rate and organic load to municipal wastewater treatment plants is critical. This study investigated the performance of a membrane bioreactor (MBR) in handling hydraulic and organic loading shocks during wastewater treatment. The ability of the MBR to remove COD, BOD5, and turbidity from synthetic wastewater was evaluated at steady-state and after applying five levels of organic shock loads (1.5×-4×) and four levels of hydraulic shocks (1.2×-4.7×). Due to the short-term shock-loadings no discernible effect was observed on the mixed liquor suspended solids implying biological stability. The average COD removal in MBR exposed to organic and hydraulic shock loads was 93.8% and 94%, respectively, similar to average BOD5 removals of 94.4% and 93.6%. The membrane retained suspended particles well throughout the process. However, it became quickly fouled only by applying a strong hydraulic shock. The MBR guaranteed the quality of the effluent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Membrane costs and biofouling limit applications of membrane bioreactors (MBRs) for wastewater treatment. Here, powdered activated carbon (PAC) utilization in the formation and performance of a self-forming dynamic membrane consisting of activated sludge and PAC during hybrid wastewater treatment process was studied. Short-term agitation helped (non)biological particles to quickly uniformly settle on mesh filter, forming more uniform PAC-containing dynamic membranes (PAC-DMs). PAC adsorbed adhesive materials, resulting in an increase in average floc size and DM permeability while decreasing biofouling. The most efficient PAC concentration was 4 g L−1 considering techno-economics, i.e. the highest effluent quality (turbidity of 19.89 NTU) and the lowest biofouling (transmembrane pressure rise of 2.89 mbar). Short-term performance of hybrid PAC-DM bioreactor (PAC-DMBR) showed stability in effluent quality improvement including 92%, 95%, 83%, 84% and 98% reductions in turbidity, chemical oxygen demand, total dissolved solids, total nitrogen, and total phosphorous, respectively. Accordingly, adopting hybrid PAC-DMBR has potential to alleviate biofouling and capital cost. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study is to synthesize a magnetic nanocomposite membrane using iron oxide and alumina nanoparticles and employing it in magnetic membrane bioreactors (MBRs) for oily wastewater treatment. Al2O3 and Fe3O4 nanoparticles with approximate sizes of 20 and 30 nm respectively, were settled into a polysulfone (PSf) membrane matrix via magnetic casting method. The concentration of alumina and iron oxide nanoparticles were 0–0.25 wt% and 0.03 wt%, respectively. Compared with the blank membrane, an increase in the concentration of Fe3O4 up to 0.2 wt%, led to the flux as much as 70% and mitigated total resistance by 70%. The presence of the magnetic field around the bioreactor increased the flux significantly and reduced the cake resistance by 93%. Moreover, by applying the static magnetic field to MBR, the Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) removal rate was increased to 93%, while in the MBR without the magnetic field the COD removal rate was 80%. Our investigation illustrated that the magnetic casting is an effective method to improve the flux and mitigate the fouling of the magnetic nanocomposite membrane. The output of this research indicates that the magnetic casting method enhance the magnetic MBRs performance for wastewater treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigates the effectiveness of zeolite for controlling the membrane fouling in a hybrid membrane bioreactor. A control membrane bioreactor without zeolite (CMBR) and a hybrid MBR with zeolite were studied, which were called 4 g L–1 zeolite (Z4-MBR), 8 g L–1 zeolite (Z8-MBR) and 12 g L–1 zeolite (Z12-MBR) within long- and short-term filtration experiments. On average, the Z4-MBR, Z8-MBR and Z12-MBR reduced soluble microbial products (SMPC) by 18.96%, 42.11% and 19.44%, respectively. Furthermore, the ZMBR systems developed lower operational trans-membrane pressure (TMP), lower zeta potential, increased the relative hydrophilicity of sludge and enhanced the concentration of EPS. Reduced membrane fouling and ease of membrane operation are concluded from this study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this research membrane bioreactor (MBR) technology as a novel and practical technology was studied for treatment of saline petrochemical wastewater. Membrane fouling and permeability, mixed liquor properties such as change of flock size, and effluent characteristics of MBR were measured in presence of various salt concentrations in the feed. The results showed that the increasing the salinity reduced cake layer, total membrane resistances and increased the membrane permeability and sludge particle size. Also, COD removal efficiencies were up to 91% in all trials. These results indicate that the MBR was highly efficient for treating saline petrochemical wastewater. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The aim of this study was to evaluate the potential use of ozonation with pharmaceutical compounds on membrane bioreactor (MBR). The result has shown that high concentrations of pharmaceutical contaminants have caused destruction of cell wall, thereby reducing mixed liquor suspended solids (MLSS). It also resulted in high amounts of biopolymers in the presence of non-biodegradable pharmaceutical compound in MBR. As a result, biological removal decreased and membrane fouling happened. Ozonation treatment reached a chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) removal of 99.9% and caused better effluent quality. The MBR-ozonation process could achieve an acetaminophen and fluoxetine removal of around 98.4 and 57.83%, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigated the long-term filtration of mesh filter with the formed dynamic membrane in bioreactor. The trend of transmembrane pressure (TMP) variations highly corresponded to the thickness and compactness index of dynamic membrane. The dynamic membrane was fractionated by applying two cleaning protocols, that is, rinsing and chemical cleaning. The desorbed fraction, consisting of soluble microbial products (> 70%), provided a stickiness surface for formation of consecutive biomass layer which featured a high concentration of extracellular polymeric substances (> 75%). The chemical oxygen demand (COD) removal was 70%, 89%, and 92% for period of 0–26, 26–49, and 49–67 day, respectively, which indicated that further development of dynamic membrane increased the TMP without improvement in the effluent quality (TMP: 50–200 mbar, COD removal: 89%; TMP: 200–600 mbar, COD removal: 92%). The averageand TN removal was about 76% and 21%, respectively. The effluent turbidity fell less than 2 NTU after 26 days of filtration. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Highlights: [•] To develop formation process of self-forming dynamic membrane on mesh filter. [•] To optimize imposed flux and aeration rate for self-forming dynamic membrane. [•] To evaluate efficiency of dynamic membrane bioreactor in removal of COD and TDS. [•] To investigate the preferable cleaning method for recovery of fouled mesh filter. [•] To characterize dominant chemical matter in dynamic membrane using FTIR analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Membranebioreactors (MBRs) are becoming more suitable alternativesfor conventional wastewater treatment devices. The performance ofa pressure-driven MBR is dominantly affected by the hydrodynamic conditionsof the system. This study was conducted to investigate various hydrodynamiccharacteristics including shear stress, cross-flow velocity, and membranefouling resistance, using computational fluid dynamics (CFD). Simulationof two- and three-phase flow for a flat-sheet submerged membrane modulewas carried out, and the results were compared with the experimentaldata. The CFD simulation was implemented to analyze the fluid-flowpattern, shear stress on membrane surfaces, and cross-flow velocitybetween membranes at various mixed liquor suspended solid concentrationsin the bioreactor. It was shown that the cross-flow velocity playsan important role in the membrane fouling and determination of thecritical particle diameter. To achieve an optimal operating condition,the critical particle diameter was calculated at different air flowrates and permeate fluxes. The CFD results showed that the outermostmembranes are more prone to fouling because of the lower shear stresson their surface as well as the lower cross-flow velocity betweenthem and the module wall. Moreover, the effect of the air bubble diameteron the air and liquid shear stress was investigated to determine anoptimal bubble size. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This work investigates filtration performance of mesh filter bioreactor for synthetic municipal wastewater treatment. Critical flux is measured by flux stepping method and the effect of aeration rate on the critical flux is investigated. The long term monitoring of trans-filter pressure evolution at sub and super-critical fluxes is performed. The analysis of resistance is achieved by determination of resistances and microscopic observation of bio-cake. Cake resistance values vary from 78% to 92% of total filtration resistance for sub and super-critical fluxes. The effect of variations of specific aeration demands (SADm: 0.5–6m3/m2 h) on suspended solid of effluent, turbidity of filtrate, filtration resistance, and zeta potential of biomass is evaluated. The results show that filtrate quality is decreased when the aeration rate increases. It is attributed to stable formation of dynamic membrane. A rather clear filtrate, less than 18 NTU of turbidity, is obtained for SADm 0.5m3/m2 h. The results also show that the total filtration resistance of the sub-critical flux significantly decreases with increasing aeration intensity until SADm 2m3/m2 h and thereafter slightly decreases. It is also shown that the variations of zeta potential of biomass with aeration rate highly correspond to the alterations of filtration resistance. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Rheological characterization is of crucial importance in sludge management both in terms of biomass dewatering and stabilization properties and in terms of design parameters for sludge handling operations. The mixed liquor suspended solid (MLSS) and coagulant concentration have a significant influence on biomass properties in biological wastewater treatment systems and in particular in membrane bioreactors (MBRs). In this work the rheological behavior of the biomass in a MBR operated under different MLSS was studied. The range of MLSS in the bench scale MBR was 3800 mg/l to 15200 mg/l. The rheological properties were measured over time and the apparent viscosity was correlated with the concentration of suspended solids under steady-state conditions. Furthermore, a correlation was obtained between sludge viscosity and permeate flux. Results showed that viscosity of activated sludge affects the membrane fouling tendency in an exponential relation between viscosity and fouling in the investigated range in membrane bioreactor. Also coagulants cause reduction of activated sludge viscosity and hence membrane fouling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Treatment of pharmaceutical wastewater is a real challenge for wastewater engineers. In this study, a pilot-scale system including an external loop airlift membrane bioreactor (ELAMBR) was applied for treatment of a synthetic pharmaceutical wastewater. The performance of this system was evaluated in removal of acetaminophen as the main pollutant of a pharmaceutical wastewater. A conventional activated sludge (CAS process) laboratory system was used in parallel with this system to compare both systems in regard to their ability for acetaminophen removal. The performance of the ELAMBR system was monitored for approximately one month to investigate the long-term operational stability of the system and possible effects of solids retention time on the efficiency of removal of acetaminophen. The removal efficiency was significantly higher in the ELAMBR system than the CAS process. 100% of the acetaminophen was removed after 2days in this system. The results also showed that initial concentration of acetaminophen, chemical oxygen demand (COD) and mixed liquid suspended solids (MLSS) are the most effective parameters in removal of a pollutant such as acetaminophen. This study demonstrates the usefulness of ELAMBR system for pharmaceutical wastewater treatment with the advantages such as: (i) simple operation and maintenance, (ii) efficient removal of pharmaceutical pollutant and COD and (iii) low-energy consumption. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]