The application of filterability as a parameter to evaluate the biological sludge quality in an MBR treating refinery effluent

Abstract

AbstractMembrane bioreactors (MBR) have been extensively employed at industrial effluent treatment plants; however the membrane fouling has restrained its more extensive application. Filterability is an important parameter to evaluate sludge properties and the potentiality of membrane fouling in MBR, nevertheless the lack of standardization of its assessment method has made it difficult to understand its actual role on MBR performance and compare its results. In this context, this work aims to compare three filterability assessment methods described in the literature (TTF, FT, and SFI) regarding its capability to sense sludge quality variation and reproducibility, and evaluate the application of this parameter as a tool to monitor and control fouling in MBR treating petroleum refinery effluents. This study showed that, among the methods evaluated, time to filter was the most effective to assess the filterability, both in terms of its capability to sense sludge quality variation and reproducibility. The re...