Novel membrane contactor-like bioreactor for selective separation and biodegradation of phenol and ammonium from coal chemical wastewater

Abstract

The development of coal chemical industry usually generates high-concentrated wastewater containing phenol and ammonium, which requires deep treatment before disposal. Herein, a novel combined process of membrane contactor and bioreactor (MCBR) was established for the efficient treatment of phenol-ammonium wastewater for the first time. When pH was in the range of 8–13, the increase of pH weakened the transmembrane mass transfer of phenol and enhanced the mass transfer of ammonia, owing to their different existing forms at different pH values. At a temperature of 20–30 ℃, the transmembrane mass transfer of phenol and ammonia both increased with temperature increasing. Meanwhile, the established transmembrane mass transfer model reflected the same tendencies of phenol and ammonium recovery rates between experiment and theory. The precise control of concentrations of phenol and ammonium by membrane contactor ensured the safety and effectiveness of subsequent biodegradation process. After biodegradation, the concentrations of phenol and ammonium reduced from 120.1 and 78.9 mg/L to 7.8 and 2.5 mg/L, respectively. The volatile solid content of activated sludge remained relatively constant, while the settling ratio decreased from 39 % to 29 %. Overall, this study established a novel MCBR system for green and cost-effective treatment of high-concentrated coal chemistry wastewater.