Effects of sulphur on the performance of an anaerobic membrane bioreactor: Biological stability, trace organic contaminant removal, and membrane fouling

Abstract

This study investigated the impact of sulphur content on the performance of an anaerobic membrane bioreactor (AnMBR) with an emphasis on the biological stability, contaminant removal, and membrane fouling. Removal of 38 trace organic contaminants (TrOCs) that are ubiquitously present in municipal wastewater by AnMBR was evaluated. Results show that basic biological performance of AnMBR regarding biomass growth and the removal of chemical oxygen demand (COD) was not affected by sulphur addition when the influent COD/SO ratio was maintained higher than 10. Nevertheless, the content of hydrogen sulphate in the produced biogas increased significantly and membrane fouling was exacerbated with sulphur addition. Moreover, the increase in sulphur content considerably affected the removal of some hydrophilic TrOCs and their residuals in the sludge phase during AnMBR operation. By contrast, no significant impact on the removal of hydrophobic TrOCs was noted with sulphur addition to AnMBR.

Anaerobic membrane bioreactors for emerging pollutants removal

“…Song et al, [86] examined the effect of sulphate concentration on the performance of AnMBR and reported that basic biological performance of AnMBR was not impacted by the increasing sulphate concentration when the influent COD/SO4 2ratio was maintained at higher than 10.…”

Food‐processing wastes

“…Flux decay ranged from 52% to 72%, and the ultrafiltration was found to not have any measurable effect. Song et al (2018) reported that AnMBR performance with respect to biomass growth and COD removal remained unaffected by sulfur addition as long as the COD:Sulfate ratio was higher than 10:1.…”

Batik Anaerobi̇k Membran Bi̇yoreaktörde Tuzluluk Deği̇şi̇mi̇ni̇n Membran Ki̇rlenmesi̇ Üzeri̇ndeki̇ Etki̇si̇ni̇n İncelenmesi̇

“…Song vd. [19], yüksek sülfat konsantrasyonunun (> 200 mg/L), yukarı akışlı anaerobik çamur yataklı reaktörün işletimi sırasında, anaerobik çürütücülerden SMP ve EPS'nin ana bileşenleri olan karbonhidrat ve proteinin salınımını önemli ölçüde arttırabildiğini bildirmiştir. Hem SMP hem de EPS, aerobik veya anaerobik MBR sistemlerinde gözenek tıkanıklığında ve membran yüzeyinde kek tabakasının oluşumunda önemli bir rol oynar.…”