Submerged Membrane Bioreactor (sMBR): a promising alternative to wastewater treatment for water reuse

Abstract

RESUMOAs tecnologias disponíveis para o tratamento e reúso de água a partir de esgotos sanitários abrangem um vasto número de opções, sendo os Biorreatores com Membranas Submersas considerados elementos chaves pelo papel que podem desempenhar em esquemas de reúso de água. Neste sentido, este estudo teve como objetivo apresentar um entendimento do status atual de aplicação dos BRMs, bem como apresentar os resultados de uma unidade piloto com membranas submersas do tipo placa plana tratando esgoto sanitário proveniente da moradia estudantil e do restaurante universitário da Universidade de São Paulo. A unidade piloto foi operada em condições estacionárias durante um período de 90 dias com uma concentração de 3422 ± 693 mg SST/L. Os resultados obtidos demonstraram que o sistema é capaz de produzir um efluente com baixas concentrações de cor, turbidez, DBO 5 e DQO, com valores de 25 uC, 0,29 UNT, 5,5 mg O 2 /L e 24 mg O 2 /L, respectivamente. Além disso, as membranas de ultrafiltração utilizadas foram eficientes na remoção de indicadores de organismos patogênicos, com remoção de 7 e 6 log de coliformes termotolerantes e E. coli, resultando em um efluente com concentração de 9,3 ± 21,0 e 1,8 ± 4,0 NMP/100 ml, respectivamente.Palavras-chaves: tratamento avançado de esgoto, membranas, reúso de água. Submerged Membrane Bioreactor (sMBR): a promising alternative to wastewater treatment for water reuse ABSTRACTTreatment technology for wastewater treatment and reuse encompasses a vast number of options, and the Submerged Membrane Bioreactor is regarded as a key element for the role it can play in water reuse schemes. Thus, this study aimed to present and discuss the current status of sMBR implementation, as well as to present the results of a pilot plant with submerged flat sheet membranes treating wastewater from the residence halls and the restaurant of the University of São Paulo. The pilot plant was operated under stationary conditions over a period of 90 days with a concentration of 3422 ± 693 mg TSS/L. The results showed that the system can produce an effluent with low concentrations of color, turbidity,

Removal of nitrogen and organic matter in a submerged-membrane bioreactor operating in a condition of simultaneous nitrification and denitrification

“…O uso de tratamentos biológicos em conjunto com processos de separação por membranas, Biorreatores com Membranas (BRM), aplicados ao tratamento de esgoto doméstico é uma alternativa eficiente e economicamente viável para fornecer efluentes de excelente qualidade (Hoinkis et al, 2012;Subtil et al, 2013;.…”

Membrane bioreactor for mall wastewater treatment

“…However, the effluent is free of suspended solids and low in turbidity and color, and could perhaps be a candidate for a post-treatment for reclamation for non-drinking uses. In fact, reuse of domestic wastewater was the main focus of Subtil et al (2013), where the effluent treated by MBR showed COD, turbidity and color of 24 mg L -1 , 0.29 NTU and 25 uC, respectively. However, the COD of raw the wastewater was only one half that of the mall wastewater (approximately of 1,000 mg L -1 ).…”

“…The COD in the permeate during the MBR operation remained stable with a mean of 189.4 mg L -1 ± 30.2 mg L -1 , even with the variations of organic load presented by the raw sewage in Figure 3. Subtil et al (2013) suggested that COD in the permeate is attributable mainly to the non-biodegradable and non-transformed soluble organic matter that has passed through the physical barrier of the membrane. We used a high organic load, and maybe an overload on activated sludge, and no further degradation of the organic matter was possible.…”

“…Furthermore, secondary settling has limitations. It can present low efficiency and sedimentation problems when hydraulic detention time is low; there can be small biological flakes with open structures or malformation, and the occurrence of sludge bulking can also lead to poor operation (Subtil et al, 2013). The result is a treated effluent with suspended and colloidal material, increasing BOD and suspended solids due to cellular material in the water.…”

Effect of Aluminum Sulfate and Cationic Polymer Addition in the Mixed Liquor of a Submerged Membrane Bioreactor (Smbr): Sludge Characteristics and Orthophosphate Removal in Batch Experiments

“…MBR systems explore the high separation capacity of membranes to remove the biomass, allowing system operation from low to high biomass concentration as Mixed Liquor Suspended Solids (MLSS) (8 -15 g MLSS.L -1 ) and also with a high range of solids retention time (SRT) (10 -30 days) when operating on a full-scale system, resulting in a high-quality effluent (ideal for water reuse), as well as a system with reduced implantation area, up to 40% smaller compared to the conventional activated sludge arrangement (Judd, 2006;Subtil et al, 2013;Karim & Mark, 2017).…”