Biological treatment of oily wastewater from gas stations by membrane bioreactor

Abstract

In many Asian countries, rapid industrialization and urbanization has led to an increased number of cars, making wastewater from gas stations an important issue of concern in urban environment. This wastewater is characterized by high concentration of oil–water emulsion, which cannot be effectively removed by a conventional gravity separator. An experimental investigation on the treatability of oily wastewater from gas stations using a membrane bioreactor (MBR) system revealed that MBR system could achieve good removal efficiency with stability against shock loading. Optimum operating conditions were found to be at a hydraulic retention time of 4 h and an oil-loading rate of 1.8 kg oil m–3·d–1. It was anticipated that adding powdered activated carbon (PAC) in the MBR could help to adsorb the oils. However, operating the MBR with only microbial flocs has an advantage over adding PAC particles into the MBR, since the former condition could provide a prolonged cycle of filtration with a relatively lesser increase in transmembrane pressure. Key words: activated sludge process, membrane bioreactor, membrane fouling, oily wastewater, powdered activated carbon, transmembrane pressure.