Comparison of hybrid membrane aerated biofilm reactor (MABR)/suspended growth and conventional biological nutrient removal processes

Carlson, Avery L.; He, Huanqi; Yang, Cheng

doi:10.2166/wst.2021.062

Cited by 27 publications

(23 citation statements)

References 8 publications

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Section: Membrane Module Configuration and Process Layoutmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The MABR unit can either be operated as a pure biofilm process or coupled with conventional activated sludge (AS) as a hybrid biofilm process (Daigger 2020;Carlson et al 2021). A fundamental difference between the two processes is the location where the organic carbon is metabolized (Carlson et al 2021). In pure biofilm processes, organic carbon is utilized in the outer biofilm layer adjacent to the bulk liquid by heterotrophic organisms, and nitrification occurs in the inner portion of the MAB (Syron et al 2015;Kunetz et al 2016;Bicudo et al 2019).…”

Section: Membrane Module Configuration and Process Layoutmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In practice, MABR units are commonly submerged in anoxic tanks to increase the biomass inventory, intensify the conventional AS process, and increase the facility's treatment capacity (Figure 3(a)). With the aerobic MAB present in the anoxic zone, the Hybrid MABR/AS process can facilitate simultaneous nitrification and denitrification (SND) in a single tank and eliminate the internal nitrate recycling (Carlson et al 2021). However, in such anoxic Hybrid MABR/AS system, a modest amount of oxygen will be transferred into the anoxic zone when air scouring is applied for biofilm thickness control, which could affect denitrification activities.…”

Section: Membrane Module Configuration and Process Layoutmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The ability to use nitrate and nitrite as the terminal electron instead of oxygen has been demonstrated for selected Accumulibacter lineages (Carvalho et al 2007;Flowers et al 2009). In the Hybrid MABR/AS process, the nitrate and nitrite produced by the aerobic MAB could diffuse into the anoxic bulk liquid and serve as the electron acceptor for the DPAO metabolism (Carlson et al 2021). This can lead to significant energy saving for aeration.…”

Section: Functional Pathways For Biological Nutrient Removal (Bnr)mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Moreover, current lab-scale research is moving towards a deeper understanding of membrane-aerated biofilms (MABs), including the metabolic pathways (Tian et al 2019;Tian et al 2020), MAB formation (Hu et al 2020), predation activities (Aybar et al 2019;Kim et al 2020), and novel microbial compositions (Zhang et al 2021). Process modeling is also improving to facilitate MABR design and operation (Chen et al 2020;Carlson et al 2021). However, active biofilm management is still a challenge, and fundamental knowledge is still limited regarding complex interactions between attached and suspended growth.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Recent progress using membrane aerated biofilm reactors for wastewater treatment

Wagner

Carlson

et al. 2021

Water Science and Technology

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The membrane biofilm reactor (MBfR), which is based on the counter diffusion of the electron donors and acceptors into the biofilm, represents a novel technology for wastewater treatment. When process air or oxygen is supplied, the MBfR is known as the membrane aerated biofilm reactor (MABR), which has high oxygen transfer rate and efficiency, promoting microbial growth and activity within the biofilm. Over the past few decades, lab-scale studies have helped researchers and practitioners understand the relevance of influencing factors and biological transformations in MABRs. In recent years, pilot- to full-scale installations are increasing along with process modeling. The resulting accumulated knowledge has greatly improved understanding of the counter-diffusional biological process, with new challenges and opportunities arising. Therefore, it is crucial to provide new insights by conducting this review. This paper reviews wastewater treatment advancements using MABR technology, including design and operational considerations, microbial community ecology, and process modeling. Treatment performance of pilot- to full-scale MABRs for process intensification in existing facilities is assessed. This paper also reviews other emerging applications of MABRs, including sulfur recovery, industrial wastewater, and xenobiotics bioremediation, space-based wastewater treatment, and autotrophic nitrogen removal. In conclusion, commercial applications demonstrate that MABR technology is beneficial for pollutants (COD, N, P, xenobiotics) removal, resource recovery (e.g., sulfur), and N2O mitigation. Further research is needed to increase packing density while retaining efficient external mass transfer, understand the microbial interactions occurring, address existing assumptions to improve process modeling and control, and optimize the operational conditions with site-specific considerations.

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Section: Membrane Module Configuration and Process Layoutmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Membrane Module Configuration and Process Layoutmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Membrane Module Configuration and Process Layoutmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Functional Pathways For Biological Nutrient Removal (Bnr)mentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Recent progress using membrane aerated biofilm reactors for wastewater treatment

Wagner

Carlson

et al. 2021

Water Science and Technology

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Comparative analysis of floc characteristics and microbial communities in anoxic and aerobic suspended growth processes

Carlson

Nielsen

et al. 2022

Water Environment Research

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A fully anoxic suspended growth process is an appealing alternative to conventional activated sludge (AS) due to considerable aeration reduction and improved carbon processing efficiency for biological nutrient removal (BNR). With development of the hybrid membrane aerated biofilm reactor (MABR) technology, implementation of a fully anoxic suspended growth community in BNR facilities became practical. To better understand potential limitations with the elimination of aeration, we carried out microscopic examination and 16S rRNA gene‐based microbial community profiling to determine how an anoxic suspended growth would differ from the conventional aerobic process in floc characteristics, microbial diversity, microbial temporal dynamics, and community assembly pattern. Fewer filamentous populations were found in the anoxic mixed liquor, suggesting easily sheared flocs. The anoxic microbial community had distinct composition and structure, but its diversity and temporal dynamics were similar to the conventional aerobic community. A variety of well‐studied functional guilds were also identified in the anoxic community. The anoxic microbial community assembly was more stochastic than the conventional aerobic community, but deterministic assembly was still significant with a large core microbiome adapted to the anoxic condition. Practitioner Points Flocs developed under the anoxic conditions had less filamentous backbones, implying reduced flocculation capacity and easily sheared flocs. Knowledge about the ecophysiology of Thauera, Thiothrix, and Trichococcus can help achieve good properties of the anoxic flocs. A diverse microbial community sustainably adapted to the fully anoxic condition, containing a variety of filaments, denitrifiers, and PAOs. The anoxic microbial community displayed a similar degree of diversity and temporal dynamics compared to the aerobic counterpart. The anoxic community's assembly was more stochastic, so it may be less subject to changes in environmental variables.

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Monitoring biofilm thickness using the membrane aerated biofilm reactor (MABR) fingerprint soft sensor to optimize nitrogen removal

Cao,

Cui,

Daigger

2023

Water Environment Research

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The ongoing commercialization and installation of full‐scale membrane aerated biofilm reactors (MABRs) stimulate the increasing need to monitor biofilm development. Biofilm thickness in MABRs can be assessed indirectly by plotting the exhaust oxygen purity versus bulk ammonia concentration, defined here as the MABR fingerprint soft sensor. Dynamic simulations with diurnal flow variations of an MABR unit model were implemented over a broad range of biofilm thicknesses and influent conditions consisting of variable C/N ratios and applied ammonia fluxes to assess the utility of the MABR fingerprint. Results show that the continuously decreasing trend of the MABR fingerprint plot slopes can be employed as a useful signal for biofilm thickness control in nitrogen removal processes. This technique is useful in a wide range of influent conditions and is helpful for MABR operators and designers to arrange biofilm thickness control events efficiently and determine where in an overall treatment process the technique can be applied to control biofilm thickness and optimize process performance.Practitioner points The linear relationship between exhaust oxygen purity and bulk ammonia concentration is defined as the MABR fingerprint plot. MABR fingerprint plots are generated for a given biofilm thickness with diurnal flow or short‐term loading variations implemented. Continuously decreasing trends of the MABR fingerprint plot slopes are useful signals for biofilm control in nitrogen removal. The MABR fingerprint is useful over a wide range of influent conditions regarding C/N ratios and applied ammonia fluxes. MABR practitioners can use the fingerprint plots to determine when biofilm control measures should be taken.

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Comparison of hybrid membrane aerated biofilm reactor (MABR)/suspended growth and conventional biological nutrient removal processes

Cited by 27 publications

References 8 publications

Recent progress using membrane aerated biofilm reactors for wastewater treatment

Recent progress using membrane aerated biofilm reactors for wastewater treatment

Comparative analysis of floc characteristics and microbial communities in anoxic and aerobic suspended growth processes

Monitoring biofilm thickness using the membrane aerated biofilm reactor (MABR) fingerprint soft sensor to optimize nitrogen removal

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