Membrane Bioreactor Technology Research Articles

Development of a novel membrane-based quorum-quenching microbial isolator for biofouling control: Process performance and microbial mechanism

Quorum quenching (QQ) can mitigate biofouling in membrane bioreactors (MBRs) by inhibiting cell-to-cell communication. However, it is difficult to maintain long-term QQ activity. Here, a novel microbial isolator composed of tubular microfiltration membranes was developed to separate QQ bacteria (Rhodococcus sp. BH4) from sludge. The time to reach a transmembrane pressure of 50 kPa was delayed by 69.55 % (p = 0.002, Student’s t test) in MBR with QQ microbial isolator (MBR-Q), compared to that in the control MBR (MBR-C) during stable operation. The concentration of proteins in the extracellular polymeric substances of sludge was reduced by 20.61 % in MBR-Q relative to MBR-C. The results of the bacterial community analyses indicated less enrichment of fouling-associated bacteria (e.g., Acinetobacter) but a higher abundance of QQ enzymes in MBR-Q than in MBR-C. This environmentally friendly technique can decrease the cleaning frequency and increase the membrane lifespan, thus improving the sustainability of MBR technology.

The water energy food nexus: A multi-objective optimization tool

Many methods and tools are used to model and optimize various aspects of the water energy food nexus (WEFN). This work presents a novel software tool for the multi-objective optimization of the WEFN (MOO-WEFN). The model underlying the tool captures all three nexus sectors and the interlinkages between them. In addition, the model imposes constraints that mimic forces affecting the nexus, such as economics, environment, health, and nutrition. The software tool couples Excel with Python, which facilitates the tool's accessibility and ease of use due to its widespread usage and availability. A case study application demonstrates the tool's execution and provides examples of how changes can be made to the data to simulate different nexus developments. Five scenarios are applied to reflect such changes with results demonstrating the overall impact on resource production and consumption. Removing one of the less water-intensive food items results in a 20% increase in water consumption. Limiting the availability of surface water results in a reallocation of water resources such that 80% of water needs are satisfied from surface water and groundwater and 20% from wastewater, compared to the baseline of 100% surface water. Moreover, upon introduction of the conventional activated sludge treatment technology for wastewater (compared to the incumbent membrane bioreactor technology), energy consumption decreased by 10%. These results show changes beyond the immediate sector of change and reflect the necessity for integrated modeling that captures the impact of one change on the nexus as a whole, in terms of resource consumption and allocation. Thus, the tool supports the capability of testing how new resources, technologies, and limitations will impact nexus interactions. Furthermore, the tool facilitates carrying out sensitivity and Pareto analyses for data generation and result evaluation.

Application and effect evaluation of membrane bioreactor technology in municipal wastewater treatment

Due to the increasing amount of urban sewage and improved standards in sewage discharge, simple traditional biological sewage treatment fails to meet the needs of municipal sewage treatment. Therefore, to treat wastewater more efficiently, the process of combining biofilm technology with traditional biological wastewater treatment appeared. This paper analyzes the advantages and problems of the combined processes of membrane separation technology and traditional biological sewage treatment technology from and perspective of complementary processes, and puts forward relevant measures to alleviate membrane fouling. The study found that Membrane Bioreactor (MBR) technology occupies a small area, and has a better sewage effluent quality and strong stability, also the sludge output is low. Anaerobic Membrane Bioreactor (AnMBR) technology can increase the effectiveness of removing organic matter and enable resource reuse, which satisfies the demand for low energy consumption. Membrane Aeration Bioreactor (MABR) technology involves bubble-free aeration that greatly improves the quality of sewage effluent, and the production of sludge in MABR technology decreases. Anaerobic ammonium nitrogen membrane bioreactor technology can enhance the efficiency of Anammox bacteria, and the energy consumption and economic cost of this technology are low. Although these membrane combination processes can effectively treat sewage, they can easily be limited by factors such as temperature, microbial communities, and membrane fouling. This paper provides guiding opinions for decision makers in the field of urban sewage treatment so that they can apply appropriate sewage treatment technology to local municipal sewage treatment, promoting the sustainable development of sewage treatment.

PHA and EPS production from industrial wastewater by conventional activated sludge, membrane bioreactor and aerobic granular sludge technologies: A comprehensive comparison

The present study has focused on the mainstream integration of polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) production with industrial wastewater treatment by exploiting three different technologies all operating in sequencing batch reactors (SBR): conventional activated sludge (AS-SBR), membrane bioreactor (AS-MBR) and aerobic granular sludge (AGS). A full aerobic feast/famine strategy was adopted to obtain enrichment of biomass with PHA-storing bacteria. All the systems were operated at different organic loading (OLR) rate equal to 1-2-3 kgCOD/m3∙d in three respective experimental periods. The AS-MBR showed the better and stable carbon removal performance, whereas the effluent quality of the AS-SBR and AGS deteriorated at high OLR. Biomass enrichment with PHA-storing bacteria was successfully obtained in all the systems. The AS-MBR improved the PHA productivity with increasing OLR (max 35% w/w), whereas the AS-SBR reduced the PHA content (max 20% w/w) above an OLR threshold of 2 kgCOD/m3∙d. In contrast, in the AGS the increase of OLR resulted in a significant decrease in PHA productivity (max 14% w/w) and a concomitant increase of extracellular polymers (EPS) production (max 75% w/w). Results demonstrated that organic carbon was mainly driven towards the intracellular storage pathway in the AS-SBR (max yield 51%) and MBR (max yield 61%), whereas additional stressors in AGS (e.g., hydraulic selection pressure, shear forces) induced bacteria to channel the COD into extracellular storage compounds (max yield 50%) necessary to maintain the granule's structure. The results of the present study indicated that full-aerobic feast/famine strategy was more suitable for flocculent sludge-based technologies, although biofilm-like systems could open new scenarios for other biopolymers recovery (e.g., EPS). Moreover, the AS-MBR resulted the most suitable technology for the integration of PHA production in a mainstream industrial wastewater treatment plant, considering the greater process stability and the potential reclamation of the treated wastewater.

Recent advances of membrane-based hybrid membrane bioreactors for wastewater reclamation

Membrane bioreactor (MBR) is an advanced wastewater treatment technology, which has been established for more than 3 decades. In MBRs, membrane separation allows not only rejecting microorganisms/greater-sized molecules but decoupling hydraulic retention time (HRT) and solid retention time (SRT). Low-pressure driven, porous membranes have been widely used in MBRs, but their performances are mainly limited for wastewater reuse applications. Recently, many attempts have been made to combine desalination technologies to advance hybrid MBR processes for wastewater reclamation. Nanofiltration (NF) and reverse osmosis (RO) have been applied with the MBRs to improve effluent quality, and their advantages and challenges have been well reported in terms of rejection efficiency, operational energy, fouling control and recovery of retentate stream. Alternatively, the direct introduction of non-pressurized desalination technologies such as forward osmosis (FO) and membrane distillation (MD) into MBR processes for wastewater reclamation or probably for microbial activity have been considered substantially due to their low energy consumption and excellent rejection efficiency of solid materials. However, several technical limitations still need to be resolved to commercialize hybrid FO- or MD-MBR processes. This paper reviews recent advances of MBR technology integrated with desalination technologies for wastewater reclamation and suggests perspectives to optimize membrane-based hybrid MBR process.

Second life of water and wastewater in the context of circular economy – Do the membrane bioreactor technology and storage reservoirs make the recycled water safe for further use?

In recent years water demand drastically increased which is particularly evident in tourism-burdened mountain regions. In these areas, climate neutral circular economy strategies to minimize human impact on the environment can be successfully applied. Among these strategies, treated wastewater reuse and retaining water in storage reservoirs deserve particular attention. This study aimed to determine if recycled water produced with two circular economy systems, namely membrane bioreactor treatment plant (MBR) with UV-light effluent disinfection and a storage reservoir, is safe enough for further use in green areas irrigation in summer and artificial snow production in winter. The assessment was based on the presence and concentration of antimicrobial agents, antibiotic resistant bacteria, antibiotic resistance genes, bacterial community composition and diversity. The treated water and wastewater was compared with natural water in their vicinity. Both systems fulfill the criteria set by the European Union in terms of reclaimed water suitable for reuse. Although the MBR/UV light wastewater treatment substantially reduced the numbers of E. coli and E. faecalis (from e.g. 32,000 CFU/100 ml to 20 CFU/100 ml and 15,000 CFU/100 ml to nearly 0 CFU/ml), bacteria resistant to ampicillin, aztreonam, cefepime, ceftazidime, ertapenem and tigecycline, as well as ESBL-positive and multidrug resistant E. coli were highly prevalent in MBR-treated wastewater (88.9 %, 55.6 %, 33.3 %, 22.2 % and 11.1 % and 44.4 and 55.6 %, respectively). Applying additional tertiary treatment technology is recommended. Retaining water in storage reservoirs nearly eliminated bacterial contaminants (e.g. E. coli dropped from 350 CFU/100 ml to 10 CFU/100 ml), antibiotic resistant bacteria, resistance genes (none detected in the storage reservoir) and antibiotics (only enrofloxacin detected once in the concentration of 3.20 ng/l). Findings of this study point to the limitations of solely culture-based assessment of reclaimed water and wastewater while they may prove useful in risk management and prevention in wastewater reuse.

Wastewater Treatment Using Membrane Bioreactor Technologies: Removal of Phenolic Contaminants from Oil and Coal Refineries and Pharmaceutical Industries.

Huge amounts of noxious chemicals from coal and petrochemical refineries and pharmaceutical industries are released into water bodies. These chemicals are highly toxic and cause adverse effects on both aquatic and terrestrial life. The removal of hazardous contaminants from industrial effluents is expensive and environmentally driven. The majority of the technologies applied nowadays for the removal of phenols and other contaminants are based on physio-chemical processes such as solvent extraction, chemical precipitation, and adsorption. The removal efficiency of toxic chemicals, especially phenols, is low with these technologies when the concentrations are very low. Furthermore, the major drawbacks of these technologies are the high operation costs and inadequate selectivity. To overcome these limitations, researchers are applying biological and membrane technologies together, which are gaining more attention because of their ease of use, high selectivity, and effectiveness. In the present review, the microbial degradation of phenolics in combination with intensified membrane bioreactors (MBRs) has been discussed. Important factors, including the origin and mode of phenols' biodegradation as well as the characteristics of the membrane bioreactors for the optimal removal of phenolic contaminants from industrial effluents are considered. The modifications of MBRs for the removal of phenols from various wastewater sources have also been addressed in this review article. The economic analysis on the cost and benefits of MBR technology compared with conventional wastewater treatments is discussed extensively.

Advancements and Challenges in Membrane Bioreactor Technology for Industrial Wastewater Treatment

Due to its success in achieving the majority of wastewater treatment objectives, Membrane Bioreactor Technology (MBR) has replaced the Conventional Activated Sludge Process (CAS) as the leading method for treating wastewater. Nowadays, the treatment of industrial wastewater become one of the world’s major concerns, MBR technologies are used more frequently. This technology has a bright future in wastewater treatment (especially industrial wastewater). In general, this article is designed to give a general view of various aspects of an MBR, with the aim of addressing and overcoming any potential drawbacks or limitations. In this work, the fouling in MBR technology its variations and mechanisms, influencing factors are also discussed in detail. However, membrane fouling is thought to be the biggest challenge this technology faces. One of the main agents that causes the fouling of the membrane is Extracellular Polymeric Substances (EPS), which results in a decrease in filterability and a decline in membrane flux, which affects the membrane lifespan. Furthermore, it looks into how to minimize membrane fouling in MBR systems and offers biological tactics to lessen the likelihood of membrane fouling in MBR technology. Finally, this work quoted also how artificial technology might help to increase removal effectiveness and prevent filtering membrane obstruction.

Combined recovery of polyhydroxyalkanoates and reclaimed water in the mainstream of a WWTP for agro-food industrial wastewater valorisation by membrane bioreactor technology

The present study investigated the combined production of reclaimed water for reuse purposes and polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA) from an agro-food industrial wastewater. A pilot plant implementing a two-stage process for PHA production was studied. It consisted of a mainstream sequencing batch membrane bioreactor (SBMBR) in which selection of PHA-accumulating organisms and wastewater treatment were carried out in, and a side-stream fed-batch reactor (FBR) where the excess sludge from the SBMBR was used for PHA accumulation. The performance of the SBMBR was compared with that of a conventional sequencing batch reactor (SBR) treating the same wastewater under different food to microorganisms’ ratios (F/M) ranging between 0.125 and 0.650 kgCOD kgTSS−3 d−1. The SBMBR enabled to obtain very high-quality effluent in compliance with the relevant national (Italy) and European regulations (Italian DM 185/03 and EU, 2020/741) in the field of wastewater reclamation, whereas the performances in the SBR collapsed at F/M higher than 0.50 kgCOD kgTSS−1d−1.A maximum intracellular storage of 45% (w/w) and a production yield of 0.63 gPHA L−1h−1 were achieved when the SBMBR system was operated with a F/M ratio close to 0.50 kgCOD kgTSS−1d−1. This resulted approximately 35% higher than those observed in the SBR, since the ultrafiltration membrane avoided the washout of dispersed and filamentous bacteria capable of storing PHA.Furthermore, while maximizing PHA productivity in conventional SBR systems led to process dysfunctions, in the SBMBR system it helped mitigate these issues by reducing membrane fouling behaviour. The results of this study supported the possibility to achieve combined recovery of reclaimed water and high-value added bioproducts using membrane technology, leading the way for agro-food industrial wastewater valorization in the frame of a circular economy model.

Growth Performance and Biochemical Composition of Nile Tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) Reared in Membrane Bioreactor Treated Wastewater

The aquaculture sector in Africa has great potential for growth; however, it faces several challenges, one of them being the scarcity of clean water. This prompts the need for water recycling. The present study was conducted to investigate the effects of rearing Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) using municipal wastewater treated with membrane bioreactor (MBR) technology. A total of 270 Nile tilapia fingerlings (0.15±0.05 g) were reared in three treatment groups in triplicate. There were 2 treatments, including; MBR treated wastewater and stabilization pond treated wastewater (maturation pond), while the municipal tap water was used as the control. The growth performance (weight and length) of the fish was monitored over a 24-week period. After the experimental period, the biochemical composition of the fish muscle was analysed using standard AOAC methods. The results showed that the highest weight gain, length gain, survival rate, and specific growth were obtained in the fish in the control followed by the MBR treatment. Additionally, the crude protein, as well as the crude fiber and dry matter, were significantly higher in the fish in the maturation ponds at 23.10%, 0.29%, and 25.35%, respectively, while the crude ash was highest in the MBR at 1.22%. Results also showed that the MBR and maturation pond treatments meet the permissible levels for BOD, COD, NH4, and NO3 for water to be used in aquaculture. The bioaccumulation of heavy metals in the fish was mainly from the feed, with copper being the highest contaminant at 1.75 mg/100 g. In conclusion, both the MBR and maturation pond treated wastewater are viable for use in the rearing of Nile tilapia without adverse effect on the growth. However, MBR treatment showed better growth performance, suggesting that it could be used to increase productivity in fish farming.

Evaluating membrane bioreactor treatment for the elimination of emerging contaminants using different analytical methods

Since wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) were not originally designed to eliminate contaminants of emerging concern (CECs), alternative strategies like membrane bioreactor (MBR) technology are gaining importance in achieving effective CEC removal and minimising their environmental impact. In this study, composite wastewater samples were collected from the biggest WWTP in the Basque Country (Galindo, Biscay) and the performance of two secondary treatments (i.e. conventional activated sludge treatment, CAS, and MBR) was assessed. The combination of a suspect screening approach using liquid chromatography tandem high-resolution mass spectrometry (LC-HRMS) and multitarget analysis by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) allowed the detection of approximately 200 compounds in the WWTP effluents. The estimated removal efficiencies (REs) revealed that only 16 micropollutants exhibited enhanced removal by MBR treatment (RE > 70% or 40 – 60%). The environmental risk posed by the non-eliminated compounds after both treatments remained similar, being anthracene, clarithromycin, bis(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) and dilantin the most concerning pollutants (RQ > 1). The Microtox® bioassay confirmed the MBR’s efficiency in removing baseline toxicity, while suggesting a similar performance of CAS treatment. These minimal differences between treatments call into question the worthiness of MBR treatment and emphasise the need to seek more efficient alternative treatment methods.

Anaerobic Membrane Bioreactor for Microalgae and Primary Sludge Co-Digestion at Pilot Scale: Instrumentation, Control and Automation Implementation, and Performance Assessment

Anaerobic membrane bioreactor (AnMBR) technology is gaining interest for circular economy integration in the water sector. However, its complexity, arising from the integration of anaerobic processes with membrane technology, poses a key challenge. Developing an appropriate instrumentation, control, and automation (ICA) system is essential for its reliable long-term operation. In this study, an ICA system was developed to successfully manage an AnMBR pilot plant co-digesting two waste streams (microalgae and primary sludge). The ICA implementation enabled its stable long-term operation for 576 days, ensuring the proper performance of biological and filtration processes and yielding 215 NmLCH4·gCODinf−1 at 35 °C. Variables such as temperature, oxidation-reduction potential, permeate flux and biogas flow were identified as key parameters and controlled. This included a 23% reduction in the integral of absolute error compared to a PID controller for permeate flow and the maintenance of a 0.5% standard deviation for digester temperature. These controls enabled AnMBR performance optimization, the rapid detection of process issues, and early corrective actions. As a start-up strategy to ensure proper filtration performance in the long term, critical flux tests were conducted, guaranteeing a competitive total annualized equivalent cost of 0.0016 EUR/m3 for optimal conditions. The study also calculated greenhouse gas emissions in different scenarios, proposing optimal and more sustainable pilot plant operations, mesophilic conditions, biogas upgrading through microalgae cultivation, and grid injection, reducing emissions by 423 kgCO2e·tCOD−1. To ensure the viability of emerging technologies such as AnMBR, proper start-up protocols are crucial, including favorable filtration and biological process operating conditions, ICA implementation, and key parameter control for technical, economic and environmental success.

Integration of Membrane Bioreactor and Reverse Osmosis for Textile Wastewater Treatment and Reclamation: A Pilot-Scale Study

Membrane bioreactor (MBR) technology, a combination of traditional activated sludge and membrane filtration, has been widely used for industrial wastewater treatment and reclamation. This paper highlights a pilot-scale MBR system treating textile wastewater from a textile factory in Taiwan. Over 7 months of continuous operation, the average MBR influent chemical oxygen demand (COD) is 332 mg/L, and the average effluent COD is 38 mg/L, which results in approximately 88% COD removal. A reverse osmosis (RO) module is installed after 2 months of MBR operation and uses the MBR permeate as its influent. The RO produces pure water with average COD, conductivity, and color of 7 mg/L, 16 μS/cm, and 7 Pt-Co, respectively. The RO permeate is suitable for reuse in manufacturing processes, and the RO membrane shows stable performance with TMP, which is less than or equal to 0.5 kg/cm2 during the test. The study demonstrates the great feasibility of MBR combined with RO for treating and reclaiming textile wastewater.

Review on Biodiesel Wastewater Treatment Using Membrane Bioreactor (MBR) Technology

Reclaiming and reusing water are both economically and environmentally significant concerns for enterprises to consider. The creation of biodiesel fuel is one of the outcomes of the development of technology that provide alternatives to fuel derived from petroleum. Most of the research done on biodiesel thus far has concentrated on its creation and fuel qualities, while environmental control has received very little attention. This review paper discusses biodiesel fuel production from edible oil, non-edible oil, animal fats, and other sources, as well as the transesterification process and the main source of biodiesel wastewater. With a growing population, depleting natural resources, and a plethora of environmental challenges, it is crucial that we find ways to reuse, recycle, and reproduce. This paper provides a summary of research done on the topic of recycling biodiesel wastewater. The pretreatment of wastewater from biodiesel production leads to an improvement in the efficiency of biological processes. By combining the biological process with membrane filtration, MBR technology is developed, which has many advantages over traditional approaches. This review has also examined the relevance, potential, and feasibility of using MBR Technology to treat biodiesel wastewater released from a biodiesel production process. Reusing wastewater after it has been treated with MBR Technology is a further feasible option.

Emerging membrane technology and hybrid treatment systems for the removal of micropollutants from wastewater

Currently, substances have been detected that have always been present but have long been unnoticed; among these substances called emerging pollutants are pharmaceuticals, pesticides, cosmetics, cleaning, and personal care products, among others. Membrane Bioreactor (MBR) technology has gained extensive popularity in enhancing the treatment and reutilization of wastewater. It exhibits efficiencies ranging from 40 to 79 % for treating high organic loads such as dairy wastewater while achieving impressive rates of up to 90 % for effectively removing emerging contaminants. However, traditional MBRs with ultrafiltration or porous microfiltration membranes are not intended to remove hazardous micropollutants from water, which are constantly present in trace concentrations and can adversely affect terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. Several effective techniques have been used to remove hazardous micropollutants from water, especially for hydrophilic and resistant chemicals. These tactics consist mainly of improving the operating environment, using high-retention membranes instead of porous membranes, adding functional materials to the bioreactor, and including additional procedures for effluent treatment. To ensure almost complete removal of micropollutants, the MBR can be complemented with effluent treatment, recently the use of high retention membranes, hybrid MBR-nanofiltration systems, or other processes such as electrocoagulation or advanced oxidation (AOP) have been reported. Nevertheless, additional investigation is required to assess these strategies' technical and economic viability, particularly regarding real-time effectiveness. This evaluation is crucial for identifying the most appropriate techniques for industrial applications.

Effects of High Pharmaceutical Concentrations in Domestic Wastewater on Membrane Bioreactor Treatment Systems: Performance and Microbial Community.

Despite pharmaceuticals being widely detected in water-bodies worldwide, what remain unclear are the effects of high pharmaceutical concentrations on the treatment efficiency of biological wastewater treatment processes, such as membrane bioreactor (MBR) systems. This study investigated the efficiency of MBR technology in the treatment of synthetic wastewater containing a mixture of five typical pharmaceuticals (ofloxacin, sulfamethoxazole, sulfamethylthiadiazole, carbamazepine and naproxen) with a total concentration of 500 µg/L. Both the control MBR (MBRc) without pharmaceutical dosing and the MBR operated with high influent pharmaceutical concentrations (MBRe) were operated under room temperature with the same hydraulic retention time of 11 h and the same sludge retention time of 30 d. The removal efficiency rates of total nitrogen and total phosphorus were 83.2% vs. 90.1% and 72.6% vs. 57.8% in the MBRc vs. MBRe systems, and both MBRs achieved >98% removal of organics for a 180-day period. The floc size decreased, and membrane fouling became more severe in the MBRe system. Microbial diversity increased in the MBRe system and the relative abundances of functional microbe differed between the two MBRs. Furthermore, the total relative abundances of genes involved in glycolysis, assimilating nitrate reduction and nitrification processes increased in the MBRe system, which could account for the higher organics and nitrogen removal performance. This work provides insights for MBR operation in wastewater treatment with high pharmaceutical concentrations.

Application of TOPSIS and AHP methods to select a wastewater treatment technology for Poong In Vina Factory

Selecting wastewater treatment technology is not an easy matter. In this study, TOPSIS and AHP methods are used to support decision-making in choosing a wastewater treatment alternative for Poong in Vina factory. A total of 9 criteria belonging to 3 groups of economic, social and environmental issues were used to select an alternative. The results of TOPSIS and AHP analysis showed that aerobic biotechnology integrated with membrane bioreactor technology (MBR) is the optimal solution (score 1). The outcomes of this study will help the company in choosing the best option among these technologies. Furthermore, it will provide an insight for relevant stakeholders such as engineers, manufacturers and other organizations for making decisions.

Microbial Electrochemical Systems and Membrane Bioreactor Technology for Wastewater Treatment

AbstractMembrane bioreactors (MBRs) and microbial electrochemical systems (MESs) are promising technologies for wastewater treatment and generation of electricity from organic matter. The application of MBRs is limited due to membrane fouling and high energy consumption. The novel design of the coupling system of microbial fuel cell and membrane bioreactor (MFC‐MBR), which efficiently combines microbial degradation in MFCs and uses the microelectric field to reduce and mitigate membrane fouling in MBR. The fundamentals of extracellular electron transport, the performance of MFCs, different types of MBR systems, and the novelty of the MFC‐MBR coupling system for wastewater treatment are reviewed.

Efficiency assessment of 3.2MLD MBR based sewage treatment plant of IFFCO township Aonla, Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh, India

Increasing urbanization and industrialization is continuously putting a pressure on the ground and fresh water resource in form of quality and quantity. Therefore water recycling through wastewater treatment is the need of the present hour. Therefore in the present study the efficiency of the 3.2MLD sewage treatment plant (STP) based on membrane bioreactor technology (MBR) located in Indian Farmers Fertilizer Cooperative Limited (IFFCO) township Aonla, Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh, India was studied. The plant was recently commissioned on 10th of June 2022. The plant shows highest efficiency for turbidity (98.6%) followed by total suspended solids (TSS) (95.7%), chemical oxygen demand (COD) (89.0%), iron (86.7%), and biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) (85.0%). The efficiency for the rest of the parameters is below 50%. The MBR based STP is working efficiently as the values of parameters in treated water is within the discharge standards of central pollution control board (CPCB) listed in The Environment (Protection) Rule, 1986. One of the major problems of MBR based STP reported in literature is membrane fouling which is also rectified in the current treatment plant by using sodium hypochlorite for membrane cleaning.

Enhanced co-digestion of sewage sludge and food waste using novel electrochemical anaerobic membrane bioreactor (EC-AnMBR)

Membrane fouling remains a big challenge hindering the wide-application of anaerobic membrane bioreactor (AnMBR) technology. In this study, an electrochemical anaerobic membrane bioreactor (EC-AnMBR) was developed by coupling electrochemical regulation to enhance co-digestion of sewage sludge and food waste and mitigate membrane fouling. The highest methane production (0.12 ± 0.02 L/Lreactor/day) and net energy recovery (31.82 kJ/day) were achieved under the optimum conditions of 0.8 V, hydraulic retention time of 10 days and solids retention time of 50 days. Electrochemical regulation accelerated the mineralization of high-molecular-weight organics and reinforced the membrane antifouling ability by inducing electrostatic repulsive force and electrochemical oxidation. Besides, symbiotic relationships among functional microorganisms (Spirochaetes, Methanolinea, etc.) were enhanced, improving the hydrolysis and methanogenesis processes of complex organics and the long-term stability. This study confirms the technical feasibility of EC-AnMBR in treating high-solid biowastes, and provides the fundamental data to support its application in real-world scenarios.