Submerged anaerobic membrane bioreactor (SAnMBR) performance on sewage treatment: removal efficiencies, biogas production and membrane fouling.

A submerged anaerobic membrane reactor (SAnMBR) was employed for comprehensive evaluation of sewage treatment at 25 °C and its performance in removal efficiency, biogas production and membrane fouling. Average 89% methanogenic degradation efficiency as well as 90%, 94% and 96% removal of total chemical oxygen demand (TCOD), biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) and nonionic surfactant were obtained, while nitrogen and phosphorus were only subjected to small removals. Results suggest that SAnMBRs can effectively decouple organic degradation and nutrients disposal, and reserve all the nitrogen and phosphorus in the effluent for further possible recovery. Small biomass yields of 0.11 g mixed liquor volatile suspended solids (MLVSS)/gCOD were achieved, coupled to excellent methane production efficiencies of 0.338 NLCH4/gCOD, making SAnMBR an attractive technology characterized by low excess sludge production and high bioenergy recovery. Batch tests revealed the SAnMBR appeared to have the potential to bear a high food-to-microorganism ratio (F/M) of 1.54 gCOD/gMLVSS without any inhibition effect, and maximum methane production rate occurred at F/M 0.7 gCOD/gMLVSS. Pore blocking dominated the membrane fouling behaviour at a relative long hydraulic retention time (HRT), i.e. >12 hours, while cake layer dominated significantly at shorter HRTs, i.e. <8 hours.

[1]  Y. Li,et al.  Fouling behaviour of soluble microbial products and extracellular polymeric substances in a submerged anaerobic membrane bioreactor treating low-strength wastewater at room temperature , 2017 .

[2]  Mogens Henze,et al.  Biological Wastewater Treatment: Principles, Modeling and Design , 2015 .

[3]  F. Fdz-Polanco,et al.  Long-term operation of a pilot scale anaerobic membrane bioreactor (AnMBR) for the treatment of municipal wastewater under psychrophilic conditions. , 2015, Bioresource technology.

[4]  Xiaochang C. Wang,et al.  Sulfate addition as an effective method to improve methane fermentation performance and propionate degradation in thermophilic anaerobic co-digestion of coffee grounds, milk and waste activated sludge with AnMBR. , 2015, Bioresource technology.

[5]  Chuyang Y. Tang,et al.  Membrane cleaning in membrane bioreactors: A review , 2014 .

[6]  R. Dereli,et al.  A review of anaerobic membrane bioreactors for municipal wastewater treatment: Integration options, limitations and expectations , 2013 .

[7]  Piet N.L. Lens,et al.  Development and start up of a gas-lift anaerobic membrane bioreactor (Gl-AnMBR) for conversion of sewage to energy, water and nutrients , 2013 .

[8]  Jianrong Chen,et al.  A review on anaerobic membrane bioreactors: Applications, membrane fouling and future perspectives , 2013 .

[9]  H. Ng,et al.  Submerged anaerobic membrane bioreactor for low-strength wastewater treatment: effect of HRT and SRT on treatment performance and membrane fouling. , 2011, Water research.

[10]  Hiroki Yamamoto,et al.  Biological oxidation of dissolved methane in effluents from anaerobic reactors using a down-flow hanging sponge reactor. , 2010, Water research.

[11]  Kyung-Min Yeon,et al.  Correlating TMP increases with microbial characteristics in the bio-cake on the membrane surface in a membrane bioreactor. , 2008, Environmental science & technology.

[12]  D. Jenkins,et al.  Influence of mixed liquor properties and aeration intensity on membrane fouling in a submerged membrane bioreactor at high mixed liquor suspended solids concentrations. , 2007, Water research.

[13]  David M. Bagley,et al.  Experimental Determination of Energy Content of Unknown Organics in Municipal Wastewater Streams , 2004 .

[14]  H. Siegrist,et al.  The IWA Anaerobic Digestion Model No 1 (ADM1). , 2002, Water science and technology : a journal of the International Association on Water Pollution Research.

[15]  G Lettinga,et al.  Challenge of psychrophilic anaerobic wastewater treatment. , 2001, Trends in biotechnology.

[16]  Xia Huang,et al.  Effect of sludge retention time on microbial behaviour in a submerged membrane bioreactor , 2001 .

[17]  V. Vavilin,et al.  A description of hydrolysis kinetics in anaerobic degradation of particulate organic matter , 1996 .

[18]  N. Horan,et al.  Biological Wastewater Treatment Systems: Theory and Operation , 1990 .

[19]  A. E. Greenberg,et al.  Standard methods for the examination of water and wastewater : supplement to the sixteenth edition , 1988 .

[20]  Bernhard Schink,et al.  Anaerobic degradation of nonionic and anionic surfactants in enrichment cultures and fixed-bed reactors , 1987 .

[21]  R. Evans,et al.  Anaerobic Digestion: The Rate-Limiting Process and the Nature of Inhibition , 1975, Science.

[22]  J. P. Olivier,et al.  A New Method for the Determination of Critical Micelle Concentrations of Un-ionized Associations Colloids in Aqueous or in Non-aqueous Solution , 1959 .