Comparative study of MBR and activated sludge in the treatment of paper mill wastewater.

The study was based on a full scale activated sludge plant (AS) compared to a parallel operated pilot membrane bioreactor (MBR) with flat sheets membranes. Both systems received their influent from an anaerobic bioreactor treating paper mill wastewater. MBR produced an effluent of much better quality than AS in terms of suspended solids, containing 1 mg/L or less in 80% of the monitoring time, while the AS effluent contained 12 mg/L. This could save the necessity of further treatment by filtration in the case of MBR. Other effluent quality parameters, such as organic matter (COD and BOD), phosphorus and ammonia nitrogen, did not indicate substantial differences between AS and MBR. Calcium carbonate scaling and formation of a bacterial layer on the membrane caused severe flux reduction. The membrane blockage because of scaling and biofouling proved to be very serious, therefore, it required proper and more complicated maintenance than the AS system. This study leads to the conclusion that in the case of paper mill wastewater, after anaerobic biotreatment, if there is no need for excellent effluent quality in terms of suspended solids, the replacement of the AS by the MBR would not be strongly justified, mainly because of maintenance cost.     

Full scale implementation of the nutrient limited BAS process at S?dra Cell V?r?.

A combination of the suspended carrier biofilm process and the activated sludge process (biofilm-activated sludge--BAS) has been shown to be very successful for the treatment of different types of pulp and paper mill effluents. The robust biofilm pre-treatment in combination with activated sludge results in a stable, compact and highly efficient process. Recent findings have shown that nutrient limited operation of the biofilm process greatly improves the sludge characteristics in the following activated sludge stage, while minimising sludge production and effluent discharge of nutrients. The nutrient limited BAS process was implemented at full scale at the S?dra Cell V?r? kraft mill and taken into operation in July 2002. After start-up and optimisation over about 5 months, the process meets all effluent discharge limits. The removal of COD is close to 70% and the removal of EDTA greater than 90%. Typical effluent concentrations of suspended solids and nutrients during stable operations have been 20-30 mg/L TSS, 0.3-0.5 mg/L phosphorus and 3-5 mg/L nitrogen. The sludge production was 0.09 kgSS/kg COD removed and the sludge volume index was 50-100 mL/g.     

A pilot study on accelerated sludge degradation by a high-concentration membrane bioreactor coupled with sludge pretreatment.

A new sludge treatment process combining a high MLSS membrane bioreactor with sludge pretreatment techniques was studied in pilot-scale experiments. The membrane bioreactor (MBR) was adopted for high efficiency aerobic digestion. The combination of alkaline-ozone treatment of the mixed liquor in the MBR reactor accelerated the biodegradation process by enhancing biodegradability of the sludge. The hydraulic retention time (HRT) of the reactor was set as 3.1 days and the DO level was 1 mg/L on average. After 5 months of operation, the accumulative total solids reduction was more than 70%. Removal efficiency of volatile solids and non-volatile solids were 76% and 54%, respectively. It was found that a considerable portion of the non-volatile solids was dissolved into ions and then flushed out with the effluent. Also, about 41% and 28% of T-N and T-P in the raw sludge were removed although no biological nutrient removal process was adopted. The experiment was run smoothly without significant membrane fouling, even at the relatively high levels of MLSS concentration (11,000-25,000 mg/L). It is concluded that the newly proposed process can significantly increase the sludge reduction efficiency with much shorter retention times.     

Micropollutants removal in an anaerobic membrane bioreactor and in an aerobic conventional treatment plant

The paper expresses an attempt to tackle the problem due to the presence of micropollutants in wastewater which may be able to disrupt the endocrine system of some organisms. These kinds of compounds are ubiquitously present in municipal wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) effluents. The aim of this paper is to compare the fate of the alkylphenols-APs (4-(tert-octyl)) phenol, t-nonylphenol and 4-p-nonylphenol and the hormones (estrone, 17β-estradiol and 17α-ethinylestradiol) in a submerged anaerobic membrane bioreactor (SAMBR) pilot plant and in a conventional activated sludge wastewater treatment plant (CTP). The obtained results are also compared with the results obtained in a previous study carried out in an aerobic MBR pilot plant. The results showed that the APs soluble concentrations in the SAMBR effluent were always significantly higher than the CTP ones. Moreover, the analyses of the suspended fraction revealed that the AP concentrations in the SAMBR reactor were usually higher than in the CTP reactor, indicating that under anaerobic conditions the APs were accumulated in the digested sludge. The aerobic conditions maintained both in the CTP system and in the aerobic MBR favoured the APs and hormones degradation, and gave rise to lower concentrations in the effluent and in the reactor of these systems. Furthermore, the results also indicated that the degradation of APs under aerobic conditions was enhanced working at high solid retention time (SRT) and hydraulic retention time (HRT) values.     

Treatment of paper mill effluent using an anaerobic/aerobic hybrid side-stream membrane bioreactor

This paper presents the design and operational performance data of an anaerobic/aerobic hybrid side-stream Membrane Bioreactor (MBR) process for treating paper mill effluent operated over a 6 month period. The paper mill effluent stream was characterized by a chemical oxygen demand (COD) range of between 1,600 and 4,400 mg/L and an average BOD of 2,400 mg/L. Despite large fluctuations in COD feed concentration, stable process performance was achieved. The anaerobic Expanded Granular Sludge Bed (EGSB) pre-treatment step effectively lowered the organic loading by 65 to 85%, thus lowering the MBR COD feed concentration to consistently below 750 mg/L. The overall MBR COD removal was consistent at an average of 96%, regardless of the effluent COD or changes in the hydraulic retention time (HRT) and organic loading rate (OLR). Combining a high-rate anaerobic pre-treatment EGSB with a Modified Ludzack-Ettinger (MLE) MBR process configuration produced a high quality permeate. Preliminary NF and RO results indicated an overall COD removal of around 97 and 98%, respectively.     

Energy saving system with high effluent quality for municipal sewage treatment by UASB-DHS

An up-flow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB) - down-flow hanging sponge (DHS) was applied to Japanese municipal sewage treatment, and its treatability, energy consumption, and sludge production were evaluated. The designed sewage load was 50 m(3)/d. The sewage typically had a chemical oxygen demand (COD) of 402 mg/L, a suspended solids (SS) content of 167 mg/L, and a temperature of 17-29 °C. The UASB and DHS exhibited theoretical hydraulic retention times of 9.7 and 2.5 h, respectively. The entire system was operated without temperature control. Operation was started with mesophilic anaerobic digested sludge for the UASB and various sponge media for the DHS. Continuous operational data suggest that although the cellulose decomposition and methanogenic process in the UASB are temperature sensitive, stable operation can be obtained by maintaining a satisfactory sludge volume index and sludge concentration. For the DHS, the cube-type medium G3-2 offers superior filling rates, biological preservation and operational execution. The SS derived from the DHS contaminated the effluent but could be removed by optional sand filtration. A comparison with conventional activated sludge (CAS) treatment confirmed that this system is adequate for municipal sewage treatment, with an estimated energy requirement and excess sludge production approximately 75 and 85% less than those of CAS, respectively.     

Treatment of winery wastewaters in a membrane submerged bioreactor.

Wine production is seasonal, and thus the wastewater flow and its chemical oxygen demand (COD) concentrations greatly vary during the vintage and non-vintage periods, as well as being dependant on the winemaking technologies used, e.g. red, white or special wines production. Due to this seasonal high variability in terms of organic matter load, the use of membrane biological reactors (MBR) could be suitable for the treatment of such wastewaters. MBR offers several benefits, such as rapid start up, good effluent quality, low footprint area, absence of voluminous secondary settler and its operation is not affected by the settling properties of the sludge. A pilot scale hollow fibre MBR system of 220 L was fed by adequately diluting white wine with tap water, simulating wastewaters generated in wineries. The COD in the influent ranged between 1,000 and 4,000 mg/L. In less than 10 days after the start up, the system showed a good COD removal efficiency. The COD elimination percentage was always higher than 97% regardless of the organic loading rate (OLR) applied (0.5-2.2 kg COD/m3 d), with COD concentrations in the effluent ranging between 20 and 100 mg/L. Although the biomass concentration in the reactor increased from 0.5 to 8.6 g VSS/L, the suspended solids concentration in the effluent was negligible. Apparent biomass yield was estimated in 0.14 g VSS/g COD.     

Aerobic biological treatment of thermophilically digested sludge

Aerobic biological treatment of digested sludge was studied in a continuously operated laboratory set-up. An aerated reactor was filled with thermophilically digested sludge from the Moscow wastewater treatment plant and inoculated with special activated sludge. It was then operated at the chemostat mode at different flow rates. Processes of nitrification and denitrification, as well as dephosphatation, occurred simultaneously during biological aerobic treatment of thermophilically digested sludge. Under optimal conditions, organic matter degradation was 9.6%, the concentrations of ammonium nitrogen and phosphate decreased by 89 and 83%, respectively, while COD decreased by 12%. Dewaterability of digested sludge improved significantly. The processes were found to depend on hydraulic retention time, oxygen regime, and temperature. The optimal conditions were as follows: hydraulic retention time 3-4 days, temperature 30-35 degrees C, dissolved oxygen levels 0.2-0.5 mg/L at continuous aeration or 0.7-1 mg/L at intermittent aeration. Based on these findings, we propose a new combined technology of wastewater sludge treatment. The technology combines two stages: anaerobic digestion followed by aerobic biological treatment of digested sludge. The proposed technology makes it possible to degrade the sludge with conversion of approximately 45% volatile suspended solids to biogas, to improve nitrogen and phosphorus removal in reject water from sludge treatment units, and to achieve removal of malodorous substances after 8-9 days of anaerobic-aerobic sludge treatment.     

Enhanced nutrient removal MBR system with chemical addition for low effluent TP

A pilot study was conducted to test an membrane bioreactor (MBR) process for combined biological and chemical P removal to achieve a very low effluent total phosphorus (TP) concentration of 0.025 mg P/L. With the data from the pilot test, a simulation study was performed to demonstrate that: (1) the pilot system behaviour (effluent quality, MLSS, etc.) can be modelled accurately with an activated sludge model combined with a chemical precipitation model; and (2) with the calibrated model, simulation scenarios can be performed to further understand the pilot MBR process, and provide information for optimizing design and operation when applied at full-scale. Results from the pilot test indicated that the system could achieve very low effluent TP concentration through biological P removal with a limited chemical addition, and chemical addition to remove P to very low level did not affect other biological processes, i.e., organic and nitrogen removal. Simulation studies indicate that the process behaviour can be modelled accurately with an activated sludge model combined with a chemical precipitation model, and the calibrated model can be used to provide information to optimize system design and operation, e.g., chemical addition control under dynamic loading conditions is important for maintaining biological P removal.     

Biological nutrient removal in simple dual sludge system with an UMBR (upflow multi-layer bioreactor) and aerobic biofilm reactor.

In this study, a simple dual sludge process was developed for small sewage treatment. It is a hybrid system that consists of upflow multi-layer bioreactor (UMBR) as anaerobic and anoxic reactor with suspended growth microorganisms and post aerobic biofilm reactor with inclined plates. UMBR is a multifunction reactor that acts as primary sedimentation tank, anaerobic reactor, anoxic reactor, and thickener. The sludge blanket in the UMBR is maintained at a constant level by automatic control so that clear water (30 mg-SS/L) can flow into the post aerobic biofilm reactor. It leads to improving performance of the biofilm reactor due to preventing of excess microbial attachment on the media surface and no requirment for a large clarifier caused by low solid loading. The HRT in the UMBR and the aerobic biofilm reactor were about 5.8 h and 6.4 h, respectively. The temperature in the reactor during this study varied from 12.5 degrees C to 28.3 degrees C. The results obtained from this study show that effluent concentrations of TCOD, TBOD, SS, TN, and TP were 29.7 mg/L, 6.0 mg/L, 10.3 mg/L, 12.0 mg/L, and 1.8 mg/L, which corresponded to a removal efficiency of 92.7%, 96.4%, 96.4%, 74.9%, and 76.5%, respectively. The sludge biomass index (SBI) of the excess sludge in the UMBR was about 0.55, which means that the sludge in the UMBR was sufficiently stabilized and may not require further treatment prior to disposal.     

Removal of organic micro-pollutants from solid waste landfill leachate in membrane bioreactor operated without excess sludge discharge

Two-stage membrane bioreactor (MBR) system was applied to the treatment of landfill leachate from a solid waste disposal site in Thailand. The first stage anoxic reactor was equipped with an inclined tube module for sludge separation. It was followed by an aerobic stage with a hollow fiber membrane module for solid liquid separation. Mixed liquor sludge from the aerobic reactor was re-circulated back to anoxic reactor in order to maintain constant mixed liquor suspended solids (MLSS) concentration in the aerobic reactor. The removal of micro-pollutants from landfill leachate along the treatment period of 300 days was monitored. The results indicated that two-stage MBRs could remove biochemical oxygen demand (BOD), chemical oxygen demand (COD) and NH(4)(+) by 97, 87 and 91% at steady operating condition. Meanwhile organic micro-pollutant removals were 50-76%. The removal efficiencies varied according to the hydrophobic characteristic of compounds but they were improved during long-term MBR operation without sludge discharge.     

Two-stage biofilm-MBR for nitrogen removal and enhanced membrane performance

A two-stage biofilm-membrane bioreactor (MBR) was developed in this study. High total nitrogen removal (maximum: 81.4% with recycle ratio = 3.5) was observed by recycling the suspension liquid between an anaerobic FBBR and an aerobic MBBR. Very low (less than 60 mg/L) suspended solids was kept in the membrane unit, which could improve the membrane filtration performance. Membrane fouling was further reduced by increasing the recycle ratio. When influent organic load increased, the membrane fouling rate increased, coupling with higher FCOD and suspended solids (SS) values in the feed solution around the membrane.     

Tracking influent inorganic suspended solids through wastewater treatment plants.

From an experimental and theoretical investigation of the continuity of influent inorganic suspended solids (ISS) along the links connecting the primary settling tank (PST), fully aerobic or N removal activated sludge (AS) and anaerobic and aerobic sludge digestion unit operations, it was found that the influent wastewater (fixed) ISS concentration is conserved through primary sludge anaerobic digestion, activated sludge and aerobic digestion unit operations. However, the measured ISS flux at different stages through a series of wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) unit operations is not equal to the influent ISS flux, because the ordinary heterotrophic organisms (OHO) biomass contributes to the ISS flux by differing amounts depending on the active fraction of the VSS solids at that stage.     

林可霉素高浓度有机废水处理技术

采用厌氧颗粒和好氧活性污泥分别对内循环厌氧反应器(IC)和间歇式活性污泥法(SBR)进行污泥接种培养,研究水解酸化-IC-SBR工艺在林可霉素生产废水处理方面的运行效果。结果表明:在进水COD的质量浓度为6 000~9 000 mg/L,IC和SBR反应器中有机负荷分别为0.82 kg/(kg.d)和0.26 kg/(kg.d)左右的情况下,IC和SBR反应器分别运行60 d和7 d,COD平均去除率分别达到91%和61%,出水COD的质量浓度在300 mg/L以下,达到GB 8978—1996《污水综合排放标准》二级标准。     

A performance evaluation of three membrane bioreactor systems: aerobic, anaerobic, and attached-growth

Water sustainability is essential for meeting human needs for drinking water and sanitation in both developing and developed countries. Reuse, decentralization, and low energy consumption are key objectives to achieve sustainability in wastewater treatment. Consideration of these objectives has led to the development of new and tailored technologies in order to balance societal needs with the protection of natural systems. Membrane bioreactors (MBRs) are one such technology. In this investigation, a comparison of MBR performance is presented. Laboratory-scale submerged aerobic MBR (AMBR), anaerobic MBR (AnMBR), and attached-growth aerobic MBR (AtMBR) systems were evaluated for treating domestic wastewater under the same operating conditions. Long-term chemical oxygen demand (COD) and total organic carbon (TOC) monitoring showed greater than 80% removal in the three systems. The AnMBR system required three months of acclimation prior to steady operation, compared to one month for the aerobic systems. The AnMBR system exhibited a constant mixed liquor suspended solids concentration at an infinite solids retention time (i.e. no solids wasting), while the aerobic MBR systems produced approximately 0.25 g of biomass per gram of COD removed. This suggests a more economical solids management associated with the AnMBR system. Critical flux experiments were performed to evaluate fouling potential of the MBR systems. Results showed similar critical flux values between the AMBR and the AnMBR systems, while the AtMBR system showed relatively higher critical flux value. This result suggests a positive role of the attached-growth media in controlling membrane fouling in MBR systems.     

Effect of recirculation on organic matter removal in a hybrid constructed wetland system

This research project aimed to determine the technologically feasible and applicable wastewater treatment systems which will be constructed to solve environmental problems caused by small communities in Turkey. Pilot-scale treatment of a small community's wastewater was performed over a period of more than 2 years in order to show applicability of these systems. The present study involves removal of organic matter and suspended solids in serially operated horizontal (HFCW) and vertical (VFCW) sub-surface flow constructed wetlands. The pilot-scale wetland was constructed downstream of anaerobic reactors at the campus of TUBITAK-MRC. Anaerobically pretreated wastewater was introduced into this hybrid two-stage sub-surface flow wetland system (TSCW). Wastewater was first introduced into the horizontal sub-surface flow system and then the vertical flow system before being discharged. Recirculation of the effluent was tested in the system. When the recirculation ratio was 100%, average removal efficiencies for TSCW were 91 +/- 4% for COD, 83 +/- 10% for BOD and 96 +/- 3% for suspended solids with average effluent concentrations of 9 +/- 5 mg/L COD, 6 +/- 3 mg/L BOD and 1 mg/L for suspended solids. Comparing non-recirculation and recirculation periods, the lowest effluent concentrations were obtained with a 100% recirculation ratio. The effluent concentrations met the Turkish regulations for discharge limits of COD, BOD and TSS in each case. The study showed that a hybrid constructed wetland system with recirculation is a very effective method of obtaining very low effluent organic matter and suspended solids concentrations downstream of anaerobic pretreatment of domestic wastewaters in small communities.     

Multi-component kinetics of activated sludge treatment of bleached kraft mill effluent.

This study investigated the discrepancies between the BOD removal rates measured during short term assays and those measured during continuous activated sludge treatment of bleached kraft mill effluent (BKME). A combination of batch tests and fed batch tests with oxygen uptake rate (OUR), chemical oxygen demand (COD), biochemical oxygen demand (BOD), and mixed liquor volatile suspended solids (MLVSS) measurements were used to characterize the degradation rates for the activated sludge treatment of BKME and to divide the soluble readily biodegradable substrate into two to five separate fractions based on biodegradation rates. The removal rates varied by over an order of magnitude between the most readily degradable substrates (1 x 10(-3) mg COD/mg MLVSS minute), and the more slowly degradable substrates (2 x 10(-5) mg COD/mg MLVSS minute). If the readily biodegradable fraction of BKME was modeled as one substrate, initial rate kinetic measurements from batch tests were heavily influenced by the fractions with the greatest degradation rates, while any remaining BOD in the treated effluent was predominantly from the slowly degradable fraction, giving inconsistent results. Taking the multi-component nature of the wastewater into account, batch test results can be used to predict fed-batch and continuous activated sludge reactor performance.     

Membrane bioreactor (MBR) sludge inoculation in a hybrid process scheme concept to assist overloaded conventional activated sludge (CAS) process operations

This study analyzes the effect of inoculating membrane bioreactor (MBR) sludge in a parallel-operated overloaded conventional activated sludge (CAS) system. Modelling studies that showed the beneficial effect of this inoculation were confirmed though full scale tests. Total nitrogen (TN) removal in the CAS increased and higher nitrate formation rates were achieved. During MBR sludge inoculation, the TN removal in the CAS was proven to be dependent on MBR sludge loading. Special attention was given to the effect of inoculation on sludge quality. The MBR flocs, grown without selection pressure, were clearly distinct from the more compact flocs in the CAS system and also contained more filamentous bacteria. After inoculation the MBR flocs did not evolve into good-settling compact flocs, resulting in a decreasing sludge quality. During high flow conditions the effluent CAS contained more suspended solids. Sludge volume index, however, did not increase. Laboratory tests were held to determine the threshold volume of MBR sludge to be seeded into the CAS reactor. Above 16-30%, supernatant turbidity and scum formation increased markedly.     

Performance comparison of a pilot-scale membrane bioreactor and a full-scale sequencing batch reactor with sand filtration: treatment of low strength wastewater from a northern Canadian Aboriginal Community.

Northern Aboriginal communities in Canada suffer from poor wastewater treatment. Treatment systems on 75% of Manitoban Aboriginal communities produce substandard effluent despite the presence of sophisticated treatment systems. A 200-litre, pilot-scale membrane bioreactor (MBR) was established on the Opaskwayak Cree Nation to investigate the feasibility of MBRs in mitigating Aboriginal wastewater treatment issues. The pilot system was remote controlled and monitored via the Internet using the program pcAnywhere. The community utilized two existing sequencing batch reactors (SBR) and three sand filters for wastewater treatment. The community wastewater was relatively weak and highly fluctuating which led to poorly settling sludge that readily fouled the sand filters. A comparison study between the MBR and SBR was undertaken from September to December 2003. Operated at a 10-hour hydraulic retention time and 20-day solids residence time, the MBR outperformed the SBR and sand filtration on BOD and suspended solids removal. Furthermore, the MBR showed high levels of nitrification despite relatively cold water temperatures.     

MBR工艺处理城镇污水处理厂污泥水中试研究

将平板膜组件与传统脱氮除磷工艺相结合,构建了膜生物反应器强化生物脱氮除磷中试系统,并用于处理城镇污水处理厂的污泥系统废水。结果表明,出水CODCr、BOD5、NH3—N、TN和TP的平均浓度分别为70.8 mg/L、8.7 mg/L、15.1 mg/L、29.7 mg/L和0.38 mg/L,达到或接近了《城镇污水处理厂污染物排放标准》(GB 18918—2002)的一级标准。