Membrane bioreactor (MBR) treatment of segregated household wastewater for reuse

This paper evaluates the performance and suitability of membrane bioreactor (MBR) technology for grey and black water treatment. For this purpose, two MBRs were installed on a site located in the Training and Demonstration Center (TDC) of TUBITAK Marmara Research Center (MRC). The grey and black water originated from the lodging houses of the MRC. The study involves wastewater characterization, start-up, operation of the MBRs and evaluation of the effluent quality according to the current water reuse standards. Two pilot scale MBRs with an effective volume of 600 L were operated for a period of 50 days with a hydraulic retention time (HRT) of 18 and 36 h, respectively for grey and black water. The average removal efficiencies were, 95% COD, 92% T-N, and 99% TSS for grey water and 96% COD, 89% T-N, and 99% TSS for black water. Total and faecal coliform were not detected in either permeates. The results showed that the effluent quality of grey and black water treated by the MBR complied with the national and international reuse criteria for different uses. However, some modifications are needed to optimize the removal efficiency especially for simultaneous organic matter and nutrient removal and further investigations into long term monitoring are necessary.