Abstract
Abstract This study employs a novel combined pilot plant consisting of an anaerobic reactor followed by a membrane electrochemical bioreactor (eMBR) to treat domestic water containing selected contaminants of emerging concern (CECs) [ibuprofen (IB), carbamazepine (CBZ), diclofenac (DCF) and 17α-ethinylestradiol (EE2)]. The first phase operated as a conventional membrane bioreactor to achieve the removal of organic matter [chemical oxygen demand (COD)], the CECs and phosphorus. A removal rate of 96.3% for COD, 94.5% for IB, 37.1% for CBZ, 87.1% for DCF and 96% for EE2 was obtained. In the three subsequent phases, current density (CD) of 5, 10 and 15 A/m2 was applied successively in the eMBR with the aim of investigating the effects on the removal of the former components and the fouling of the membrane. After the application of 5 and 10 A/m2 CD, the removal rate of COD decreased. Regarding phosphorus, a CD of 5 A/m2 was enough to achieve the rate of 97% and the membrane fouling suffered a substantial reduction too. Finally, the experimental results were subject to statistical analysis using the Kruskal–Wallis and Wilcoxon tests to validate the influence of each CD.
Highlights
The fast-paced development of countries inevitably leads to an augmented production and consumption of new synthetic chemical compounds, especially in the field of pharmaceuticals
The overall average chemical oxygen demand (COD) removal was very high in all experimental phases, 94–98%, which confirmed that the combination up-flow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB) þ membrane bioreactor (MBR)/electrochemical bioreactor (eMBR) is effective to achieve very high percentages of organic matter removal
The UASB reactor was the largest contributor, removing 75–85% of the initial COD. This excellent performance of the anaerobic reactor operating at organic loading rate (OLR) of 1.4–1.6 kg COD/m3 d was inconsistent with previous studies by our group (Moya Llamas 2018) and other authors (Alvarino et al 2016)
Summary
The fast-paced development of countries inevitably leads to an augmented production and consumption of new synthetic chemical compounds, especially in the field of pharmaceuticals. A large number of drugs, metabolites and transformation products – including organic contaminants of emerging concern (CECs) end up in the sewage. This leads to major deteriorating effects on the environment, which is unable to cope with high amounts of contaminants (Rivera-Utrilla et al 2013; Pal et al 2014; Dulio et al 2018; Peña-Guzmán et al 2019). A large number of processes for wastewater treatment have proved to efficiently remove CECs (Bolong et al 2009; RiveraUtrilla et al 2013; Ahmed et al 2017). MBRs reduce CECs in wastewater more effectively than the aerobic treatment alone, as it has been previously reported for conventional activated sludge (CAS) treatment systems (Bernhard et al 2006; Kruglova et al 2016; Besha et al 2017)
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