Treatment of Wastewater from a Food and Beverage Industry Using Conventional Wastewater Treatment Integrated with Membrane Bioreactor System: A Pilot-Scale Case Study.

Sabrina Ng Muhamad Ng,Siti Baizura Mahat,Amimul Ahsan,Tuan Nurfarhana Tuan Mohd Marzuki,Syazwani Idrus

doi:10.3390/membranes11060456

Abstract

This study compares the performance of the Hollow Fiber (HF) and Flat Sheet (FS) types of membrane bioreactors (MBRs) for the treatment of food and beverage (F&B) industry wastewater in a pilot-scale study of a wastewater treatment plant (WWTP). HF and FS membrane configurations were evaluated at two different Mixed Liquor Suspended Solid (MLSS) levels: 6000 mg/L and 12,000 mg/L. The performance of each configuration was evaluated in terms of Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) and Total Suspended Solid (TSS) removals for effluent quality measurement. The transmembrane pressure (TMP), flux rate, and silt density index (SDI) were monitored and calculated for membrane fouling assessment. The results show that the rejection rates of COD and TSS for HF and FS membrane types were more than 84% for the two different MLSS levels. During the study, the HF membrane recorded 0.3 bar transmembrane pressure, which complies with the recommended range (i.e., two to three times of chemical cleaning). On the other hand, the FS membrane operates without chemical cleaning, and the TMP value was below the recommended range at 0.2 bar. It was found that the flux values recorded for both the HF and FS systems were within the recommended range of 40 L/m2/h. Analysis of SDI revealed that the calculated index ranged between 1 and 2.38 and was within the allowable limit of 3. Both types of MBR consistently achieved an 80% to 95% rejection rate of COD and TSS. Effluent quality measurement of treated F&B wastewater in this pilot-scale study using a WWTP integrated with an MBR indicated a good achievement with compliance with the Malaysia industrial effluent discharge standards.

Highlights

The floating sludge is removed to a holding tank for sludge management, and the clarified water flows into the activated sludge reactor (ASR) for further treatment
The membrane bioreactors (MBRs) system integrated in the ASR was employed to further treat food and beverage (F&B)
Running the pilot scale for two different types of membranes has shown a great performance for both systems

Summary

Introduction

A large amount of water is used for the beverage production, washing, and cleaning process, and approximately 42% of wastewater is discharged to the drains [1]. The increase in demand of food and beverage (F&B) industries in Malaysia results in an increment of the productions line, which leads to a higher volume of wastewater produced. Food and beverage industries have been reported to discharge wastewater with a high concentration of organic and inorganic substances. Failure to comply with this standard will cause the factory to be fined by the authorities and the plant to be sealed, which leads to severe losses due to production shutdown. This study will focus on wastewater treatment in the F&B industry with the application of an MBR at pilot scale

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Conclusion