A KINETIC MODEL FOR THE PREDICTION OF SLUDGE FORMATION IN A MEMBRANE BIOREACTOR

Abstract A long-term experiment with a pilot membrane bioreactor (MBR) system to treat urban wastewater was carried out. Based upon theoretical inference and experimental data analysis, the kinetic properties of the MBR were comprehensively studied. An equation to calculate the sludge concentration in the MBR was successfully derived from the material balance of substrate and biomass, and expressed as X= Y× SRT 1+K d × SRT C i −C e HRT + C i −C sup SRT Consequently, the kinetic constants including the theoretical yield factor ( Y ), the decay coefficient ( K d ) and the declining growth constant ( K ) were calculated as Y =0.56 mg VSS/mg COD, K d =0.08 day −1 and K =0.0026 day −1 using the operational data of the MBR. This equation was then satisfactorily employed to predict the trend of activated sludge growth during the experiment.