A comparative study of tertiary membrane filtration of industrial wastewater treated in a granular and a flocculent sludge SBR

Abstract

Membrane fouling has been identified by many researchers as an inconvenience for the industrial application of membranes in wastewater treatment plants. Membrane fouling decreases permeability and therefore permeates flow, increasing costs. Although fouling is the result of complex phenomena not completely known, it can be said that fouling takes place by the presence of three different kinds of compounds in the water: suspended solids, colloids and solutes. In this sense, the characteristics of the suspended solid aggregates might be an important aspect in order to diminish the impact of suspended solids on membrane fouling. The main objective of this study was to compare the operation of two similar tertiary membrane filtration units treating the effluent of two different SBRs, respectively: A granular sludge SBR (GSBR) and a membrane flocculent sludge SBR system, at laboratory scale. Two PVDF microfiltration membrane modules were used for tertiary filtration of the effluent treated in the SBRs. Both reactors were used for treating the wastewater generated in a factory of the fish freezing sector. COD of the wastewater was between 700 and 1100 mg/L, total nitrogen concentration was between 110 and 180 mg N/L and total phosphorus ranged around 110 mg P/L. The chemical characteristics of both permeates were similar. Moreover, the presence of either granules or flocs in the tertiary membrane filtration systems did not have an appreciable impact on the membrane filtration. Nevertheless, it was observed that the operation of the membrane on the flocculent system tends to be more instable, showing a major tendency to achieve critical flux.