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To cite this article: C. Visvanathan , R. Ben Aim & K. Parameshwaran (2000) Membrane
Separation Bioreactors for Wastewater Treatment, Critical Reviews in Environmental Science and
Technology, 30:1, 1-48, DOI: 10.1080/10643380091184165
ABSTRACT: With continuing depletion of fresh water resources, focus has shifted more toward
water recovery, reuse, and recycling, which require an extension of conventional wastewater treat-
ment technologies. Downstream external factors like stricter compliance requirements for wastewater
discharge, rising treatment costs, and spatial constraints necessitate renewed investigation of alter-
native technologies. Coupled with biological treatment processes, membrane technology has gained
considerable attention due to its wide range of applicability and the performance characteristics of
membrane systems that have been established by various investigations and innovations during the
last decade. This article summarizes research efforts and presents a review of the how and why of
their development and applications. The focus is on appraising and comparing technologies on the
basis of their relative merits and demerits. Additional facts and figures, especially regarding process
parameters and effluent quality, are used to evaluate primary findings on these technologies. Key
factors such as loading rates, retention time, cross-flow velocities, membrane types, membrane
fouling, and backwashing, etc. are some of the aspects covered. Membrane applications in various
aerobic and anaerobic schemes are discussed at length. However, the emphasis is on the use of
membranes as a solid/liquid separator, a key in achieving desired effluent quality. Further, technol-
ogy development directions and possibilities are also explored. The review concludes with an
economic assessment of the technologies because one of the key technology selection criteria is
financial viability.
KEY WORDS: membrane bioreactor, membrane technology, solid/liquid separation, membrane air
diffusers, membrane fouling, backwashing, micro-porous membranes.
I. INTRODUCTION
The use of biological treatment can be traced back to the late nineteenth
century. By the 1930s, it was a standard method of wastewater treatment (Rittmann,
1987). Since then, both aerobic and anaerobic biological treatment methods have
been commonly used to treat domestic and industrial wastewater. During the
course of these processes, organic matter, mainly in soluble form, is converted into
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H2O, CO2, NH4+, CH4, NO2, NO3 and biological cells. The end products differ
depending on the presence or absence of oxygen. Nevertheless, biological cells are
always an end product, although their quantity varies depending on whether it is
an aerobic or anaerobic process. After removal of the soluble biodegradable matter
in the biological process, any biomass formed must be separated from the liquid
stream to produce the required effluent quality. A secondary settling tank is used
for the solid/liquid separation and this clarification is often the limiting factor in
effluent quality (Benefield and Randall, 1980).
In recent years, effluent standards have become more stringent in an effort to
preserve existing water resources. Recycling and reuse of wastewater for second-
ary purposes is on the rise due to dwindling natural resources, increasing water
consumption, and the capacity limitations of existing water and wastewater con-
veyance systems. In both cases, achieving a high level of treatment efficiency is
imperative.
The quality of the final effluent from conventional biological treatment sys-
tems is highly dependent on the hydrodynamic conditions in the sedimentation
tank and the settling characteristics of the sludge. Consequently, large volume
sedimentation tanks offering several hours of residence time are required to obtain
adequate solid/liquid separation (Fane et al., 1978). At the same time, close control
of the biological treatment unit is necessary to avoid conditions that lead to poor
settleability and/or bulking of sludge. Very often, however, economic constraints
limit such options. Even with such controls, further treatment such as filtration,
carbon adsorption, etc. are needed for most applications of wastewater reuse.
Therefore, a solid/liquid separation method different from conventional methods
is necessary.
Application of membrane separation (micro- or ultrafiltration) techniques for
biosolid separation can overcome the disadvantages of the sedimentation tank and
biological treatment steps. The membrane offers a complete barrier to suspended
solids and yields higher quality effluent. Although the concept of an activated
sludge process coupled with ultrafiltration was commercialized in the late 1960s
by Dorr-Oliver (Smith et al., 1969), the application has only recently started to
attract serious attention (Figure 1), and there has been considerable development
and application of membrane processes in combination with biological treatment
over the last 10 years.
This emerging technology, known as a membrane bioreactor (MBR), offers
several advantages over the conventional processes currently available. These
include excellent quality of treated water, which can be reused for industrial
processes or for many secondary household purposes, small footprint size of the
treatment plant, and reduced sludge production and better process reliability.
The purpose of this monograph is to provide a comprehensive review of
membrane bioreactor technology. The application of membranes in different stages
of biological treatment processes, the historical development of membrane bioreators,
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FIGURE 1. Number of studies published on MBR.
and factors affecting the design and performance of MBR processes are discussed.
A number of case studies for each type of major MBR application along with some
cost information on MBR processes is also presented.
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TABLE 1
Commercial Scale Solid/liquid Separation MBR Plants
4
SITA/lyonnaise des Eaux France Landfill leachate 3 1050 Trouve et al., 1994a
Membratek S.Africa Industrial 2 100500 Brindle and Stephenson, 1997
Grantmij Germany Landfill leachate 3 1050 Brindle and Stephenson, 1997
Degrement France Industrial 1 500 Brindle and Stephenson, 1997
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Gas-permeable porous membranes can be used to aerate the mixed liquor in the
aeration tank by bubbleless oxygen mass transfer (Yasuda and Lamaze, 1972). At
the same time, they can be used for fine bubble aeration (Semmens, 1989; Matsuoka
et al., 1992). In certain cases, the membrane can act as support for biofilm
development, with direct oxygen transfer through the membrane wall in one
direction and nutrient diffusion from the bulk liquid phases into the biofilm in the
other direction (Brindle and Stephenson, 1996). Because the membranes can form
bubble-free or fine-bubble mass transfer, the efficiency is very high.
Conventional membrane modules can be used in either a flow-through or dead-
end mode as presented in Figure 2b. In the flow-through mode, the air or oxygen
is continuously pumped through the hollow fibers and gas is vented to keep the
partial pressure of oxygen high along the membrane. In the dead-end mode, the
membrane is pressurized with air or oxygen by sealing one end of the fibers or by
sending the gas from both ends. Most studies reported to date have focussed on the
flow-through mode, and researchers argue that the dead-end mode should be
avoided because it significantly reduces performance and may result in water vapor
condensation inside the membrane fibers. However, because air or oxygen is
vented out in the flow-through system, part of the pumped gas is wasted, and thus
the gas transfer efficiency is reduced. In addition, volatile organic compounds
(VOCs) can diffuse across the membrane into the air stream (Semmens, 1989),
VOCs in wastewater can be very effectively stripped and vented off to the atmo-
sphere. Both these problems can be overcome in the dead-end mode. Also, as the
total amount of air/oxygen supplied should diffuse through the membrane module,
the efficiency is improved and VOCs stripped off can be minimized if not com-
pletely reduced.
An extractive membrane bioreactor was developed to extract (by dialysis)
toxic organic pollutants present in industrial wastewater to a bio-medium for
subsequent degradation (Livingston, 1994). In dialysis mode, organisms can be
maintained in an optimal growth environment through nutrient supplementation
while at the same time digesting inhibitory or recalcitrant compounds that diffuse
across the membrane. Mass transfer of the pollutants across the membrane is
driven by a concentration gradient, because the bio-medium passing on the mem-
brane walls acts as a sink. Although these three applications are described sepa-
rately, they are not mutually exclusive, and they may be coupled together to
achieve added advantages for each process (Brindle and Stephenson, 1997). For
example, a study by the authors to use hollow fiber membrane for solid/liquid
separation and aeration in alternate cycles indicates such coupling (Parameshwaran
et al., 1998).
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asymmetric cellulose acetate membrane for reverse osmosis. Many combinations
of membrane solid/liquid separators in biological treatment processes have been
studied since. The trends that led to the development of todays MBR are depicted
in Figure 3. When the need for wastewater reuse first arose, the conventional
approach was to use advanced treatment processes (Figure 3a). For irrigation, this
treatment may be limited to filtration and disinfection, whereas for building reuse
or ground water recharge it may also include reverse osmosis (RO). For example,
Water Factory 21 in Orange Country (California, USA) uses a treatment process
that consists of lime softening, air stripping, recarbonation, sand filtration, carbon
adsorption, and RO for biologically treated effluent (Mills, 1996). The treated
water is used to recharge the ground water. This scheme is relatively complex and
produces large amounts of chemical sludge.
The progress of membrane manufacturing technology and its applications
could lead to the eventual replacement of tertiary treatment steps by microfiltration
or ultrafiltration and this simplified method is being evaluated at Water Factory 21
in the U.S. Parallel to this development, microfiltration or ultrafiltration was used
for solid/liquid separation in the biological treatment process and the sedimenta-
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tion step could also be eliminated. By pumping the mixed liquor at a high pressure
into the membrane unit, the permeate passes through the membrane and the
concentrate is returned to the bioreactor (Hardt et al., 1970; Arika et al., 1977;
Krauth and Staab, 1988; Muller et al., 1995). However, higher energy costs to
maintain the crossflow velocity led to the next stage of development submerg-
ing the membranes in the reactor itself and withdrawing the treated water through
membranes (Yamamoto et al., 1989; Kayawake et al., 1991; Chiemchaisiri et al.,
1993; Visvanathan et al., 1997). In this development, membranes were suspended
in the reactor above the air diffusers. The diffusers provided the oxygen necessary
for treatment to take place and scour the surface of the membrane to remove
deposited solids. In a parallel attempt to save energy in membrane coupled
bioreactors, the use of jet aeration in the bioreactor has been investigated (Yamagiwa
et al., 1991). The main feature is that the membrane module is incorporated into
the liquid recirculation line for the formation of the liquid jet such that aeration and
filtration can be accomplished with only one pump. Jet aeration works on the
principle that a liquid jet, after passing through a gas layer, plunges into a liquid
bath entraining a considerable amount of air. The limited amount of oxygen
transfer possible with this technique restricts this process to small-scale applica-
tions. However, using only one pump makes it mechanically simpler and therefore
useful to small communities. The invention of air back-washing techniques for
membrane declogging led to the development of using the membrane itself as both
clarifier and air diffuser (Parameshwaran et al., 1998). In this approach, two sets
of membrane modules are submerged in the aeration tank. While the permeate is
extracted through one set, the other is supplied with compressed air for back-
washing. The cycle is repeated alternatively, and there is a continuous airflow into
the aeration tank, which is sufficient to aerate the mixed liquor.
A. Advantages of MBR
There are many advantages in using a MBR process, the prime ones being the
treated water quality, the small footprint of the plant, and less sludge production
and flexibility of operation.
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not contain suspended matter, this enables the direct discharge of the final effluent
into the surface water and the reuse of effluent for cooling, toilet flushing, lawn
watering, or, with further polishing, as process water.
2. Flexibility in Operation
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treatment process. On the other hand, dissolved organic substances with low
molecular weights, which cannot be eliminated by membrane separation alone, can
be broken down and gasified by microorganisms or converted into polymers as
constituents of bacterial cells, thereby raising the quality of the treated water. For
example, the permeate from microfiltration of screened raw sewage (feed average
BOD5 = 230 mg/l) had an average BOD5 of 93 mg/l. This was mainly the soluble
portion of the influent BOD5, although it showed 99% removal of suspended solids
and 5.8 log removal of fecal coliforms (Johnson et al., 1996). In contrast, most
MBR studies indicate the effluent BOD5 is below 5 mg/l (Parameshwaran and
Visvanathan, 1998; Buisson et al., 1997; Trouve et al., 1994). Due to the high
biomass concentration and the fact that bio-oxidation is an exothermic process,
temperature increase can be maintained at the maximum activity temperature level.
Maximum growth rates are about five times higher than the activity commonly
observed in activated sludge systems. Based on cubic meter of reactor volume,
combining high activity with high biomass concentration results in conversion
rates 10 to 15 times higher than conventional conversion rates (Buisson et al.,
1997), an especially useful feature in cold climates.
Studies on MBR indicate that the sludge production rate is very low (Table 2).
Chaize and Huyard (1991) have shown that for treatment of domestic wastewater,
sludge production is greatly reduced if the age is between 50 and 100 days. Low
F/M ratio and longer sludge age in the reactor is generally used to explain this low
production rate.
Praderie (1996) demonstrated that the viscosity of sludge increases with age,
eventually limiting the oxygen transfer in the MBR system. Therefore, he recom-
mends limiting the MLSS concentrate to 15 to 20 g/l for effective oxygen transfer.
It was also noted that with increased age there was greater difficulty in sludge
dewaterability, which could be attributed to excess amount of cellular polymer
formation ( Parameshwaran, 1997; Erikson et al., 1992).
It is also anticipated that micrological activity can be modified with increased
sludge age, but little published information is available on the subject. The initial
microscopic observation (Praderier, 1996; Pliankarn, 1996) on microorganism
population indicates that with increased sludge age, reduction in filamentous
bacteria increased rotifers and nematodes.
In this membrane filtration process, the removal of bacteria and viruses can be
achieved without any chemical addition (Pouet et al., 1994; Langlais et al., 1992;
Kolega et al., 1991). Because all the process equipment can be tightly closed, no
odor dispersion occurs. Comparison of conventional biological processes and
MBR is shown in Table 3 and depicts the advantages discussed above.
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TABLE 2
Comparison of Sludge Production in Conventional Activated Sludge
Process (ASP) and MBR Process Treating Domestic Wastewater
Type of Sludge
Process SRT (d) production Ref.
Membranes will only find greater application in the wastewater industry if they
can achieve the required regulatory standards or better at the same or less cost
TABLE 3
Comparison of Operating Data for Conventional, Extended Aeration ASP,
and AS/UF Treatment Processes
Processes
Extended
ASP/UF Conventional aeration
Parameters Unit ASP ASP
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compared with present processes, or if regulations were to tighten further such that
conventional processes can no longer achieve the desired effluent quality.
A. Type of Membrane
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TABLE 4
Characteristics and Operating Conditions of Aerobic MBR Process (Membrane in External Circuit)
13
Reference Smith et al., 1969 Audic, Chaize and Trouve Muller Suwa Bailey Ishiguro, Lbbecke
1969 1986 Huyard, 1991 et al., 1994c et al.,1995 et al., 1992 1994 1993 et al., 1995
Sour vegetable
Wastewater type Industrial canning Ice cream
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Mixed-liquor suspended solids.
b
Unit (l/m2.h.bar).
TABLE 5
Characteristics and Operating Conditions of Aerobic MBR Process (Submerged Membrane)
Membrane configuration MF MF MF MF MF MF MF MF
Hollow fiber Hollow fiber Hollow fiber Hollow fiber Hollow fiber Hollow fiber Hollow fiber Hollow fiber
Membrane material Polyethylene Polyethylene Polyethylene Polyethylene Polyethylene Polyethylene Polyethylene Polyethylene
Pore size (m) 0.1 0.1 0.10.2 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.2
Filtration area (m2) 0.9 0.3 410 0.27 0.6 0.6 0.3 1
Transmembrane 40 13 8 27 80 40 2080 20/44/96
pressure (kPa)
Temperature (C) 23-24 1622 16.6 2530 5 25 29-31
MLSSa (kg/m3) 1011 716 8.3 10.918.2 4 2.5 4.5 1214
Flux (l/m2.h) 9 6 5.5 6.73.5 8.33 12.5 18 6/14/27
Frequency of cleaning
Reference Yamamoto Takeuchi Yamamoto Chiemchaisri, Chiemchaisri Benitez et al., Parameshwaran
14
et al., 1989 et al., 1990 et al., 1991 et al., 1992, 1993 et al., 1992, 1993 et al., 1995 et al., 1998
Pulp High
and strength SS
Wastewater type Brewery Wheat starch paper Distillery Synthetic Industrial High strength
Membrane MF UF UF MF MF MF UF UF MF UF UF
configuration plate and (tubular) (hollow (P and F) (P and F) (tubular)
frame fiber/tubular)
Membrane material Organic Polyethersulfone Polysulfone PVDF
Pore size (Dalton/m) 0.45 40,000 10,000 0.1 2 1 06 2 106 3 106 0.1 2 106 20,000 10,000
Filtration area (m2) 0.012 0.44 - 54 20 12 0.02 0.22
Cross flow 2 1.5 0.9 1.0 0.8 1.52
velocity (m/s)
Transmembrane 150 160 50 40 49 100
pressure (kPa)
Temperature (C) 3540 37 35 35 37
MLSSa (kg/m3) 15.8 30 3138 16.9 15 37.5113.3 15b 7.6
15
Flux (l/m2.h) 30 28 16.25 12.5 3545
Frequency of cleaning 25s/67 min. 1/23 weeks
Reference Anderson, Strohwald Fakhrul- Kimura, Kimura, Nagano Harada Seyfrid and Miami Kitamura, Hall
1984 and Ross, Razi, 1991 1991 et al., 1992 et al., 1994 Broockmann, et al., 1991 1994 et al., 1995
1992 1994 1995
a Mixed-liquor suspended solids.
b Mixed-liquor volatile suspended solids, MLVSS.
1. Transmembrane Pressure
P
J= (1)
Rt
FIGURE 4. Resistance in series model. Rm, membrane resistance; Ref, external fouling
resistance; Rp, polarization layer resistance; Rif, internal fouling resistance.
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As depicted in Figure 4, total resistance is a function of the intrinsic membrane
resistance (Rm), the polarization layer resistance caused by the concentration
gradient (Rp), external fouling resistance formed by deposited cake layer from
physicochemical interactions of solids with the membrane (Ref), and internal
resistance due to materials absorbed into the pores (Rif). Equation 1 becomes:
P
J= (2)
(
Rm + RP + Ref + Rif )
Because it is difficult to clearly discriminate between Rp and Ref, these two
terms are combined into a single term, external resistance (Re). Thus
P
J= (3)
(
Rm + Re + Rif )
Pressure applied for filtration influences cake compressibility and thus the
resistance caused by the cake layer Re. Therefore, Re can be written as a function
of transmembrane pressure (Re = P). Where is a function of the cake layers
mass transfer properties. Equation 3 becomes:
P
J= (4)
(
Rm + Rif + P )
For a given fluid, the permeate flux is a function of transmembrane pressure,
and Equation 4 shows two distinct pressure-dependent (at low pressure) and
pressure-independent (at increased pressure) regimes. In the pressure dependent
part, permeate flux is more or less proportional to applied pressure. In the pressure-
independent zone, permeate flux is mainly dictated by cake layer resistance (Fig-
ure 5). In continuous operation, permeate flux at low transmembrane pressure is
higher than that at higher transmembrane pressure. This seems to indicate that the
specific resistance of the solids boundary layer is a strong function of the applied
suction pressure, and an increase in resistance to filtration more than offsets
increased driving force (Bentez et al., 1995; Parameshwaran et al., 1998). This
emphasizes that filtration should be carried out at a low transmembrane pressure.
B. Crossflow Velocity
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FIGURE 5. Schematic representation of flux vs. transmembrane pressure.
However, in this region flux is mainly dictated by the cake layer formation and any
force that disturbs it can influence the flux rate. By increasing the crossflow
velocity (in external circuit membranes) or agitation around the membranes (in
submerged membranes), the cake layer-forming materials can be swept away. A
linear relationship between the flux and the crossflow velocity at constant TMP for
the filtration of biomass of an anaerobic digester treating brewery effluent has been
reported (Strohwald and Ross, 1992). With increased crossflow velocity, an im-
provement in flux and shift in the pressure-independent zone (Figure 6) was also
reported (Magara and Itoh, 1991). However, a study by Ghyoot and Verstruete
(1998) with anaerobically digested sludge indicated that an increase in crossflow
velocity had only a minor affect on the permeate flux.
Shear caused by high crossflow velocity may lead to floc rupture and higher
dispersion of biomass. Therefore, enhanced organic and oxygen mass transfer
within the biomass can help increase process efficiency. Improved efficiency of an
anaerobic digester was reported by Pillay et al. (1994). In this study, the solid
concentration in the digester was increased from 2.6 to 5.5%, and the HRT
decreased from 26 to 14 h, while the SRT was maintained at 26 days. Observations
reported by other researchers contradict this observation (Ghyoot and Verstruete,
1998; Brockman and Seyfried, 1993). According to these investigations, the excess
mechanical stress caused during crossflow damaged the interaction between differ-
ent species in the anaerobic consortia, particularly the symbiosis in the acidogenic
and methanogenic stages. However, these authors agree that the use of a centrifu-
gal pump for crossflow would have destroyed the sludge structure faster than any
other kind of pump. It can be concluded from these observations that although
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FIGURE 6. Relationship between permeate flux and driving pressure at various
velocities.
Although aeration basically serves the purpose of providing the air required for
biodegradation and keeping the biomass dispersed throughout the reactor, it serves
another important role in submerged MBRs. Turbulence induced by aeration
creates crossflow velocity in the vicinity of the membrane module. Therefore, it
can be anticipated that by augmenting the air flow rate or increasing aeration
intensity (airflow rate per unit area) by concentrating the membrane modules over
a smaller floor area, cake removal efficiency can be improved and with it the flux.
However, Udeda et al. (1997) found that although an increase in the air flow rate
partially stimulated cake removal efficiency, there was a critical value beyond
which an increase in air flow rate had virtually no effect.
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D. Membrane Fouling
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can reduce fouling (Fane et al., 1989). It has also been suggested that the membrane
should be negatively charged or neutral to limit biomass adsorption (Shimuzu et
al., 1989).
E. Mode of Operation
F. Module Arrangement
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flux decline is the accumulation of particles in the spaces between fibers. Solid
accumulation under different packing density of fibers indicates that there are four
conditions: (1) totally dispersed, (2) partially accumulated, (3) completely accu-
mulated, and (4) surface clogging. Particle accumulation between fiber spaces can
be avoided if a packing density lower than a critical value is used (Kiat et al., 1992).
G. Viscosity
where J, permeate flux (m/d); MLSS mixed liquor suspended solid concentration
(mg/l).
The relationship in Equation 5 was developed for a concentration ranging
between 5 and 15 g/l. In contrast is an observation by Ross et al. (1990) on
anaerobic sludge filtered with ultrafiltration. They found that flux was relatively
stable up to a concentration of 40 g/l, but then decreased sharply and stabilized at
about 60 g/l.
The activated sludge process was invented in 1914 by Edward Arden and
William Lockett of Manchester Corporation in England (Arden and Lockett, 1914)
and is now the most commonly used biological wastewater treatment system.
Capture of biological solids is essential to achieve low-effluent BOD and to control
the accumulation of biomass. Significant improvements in solids separation have
had a noticeable impact on the efficiency and reliability of biological processes.
For nearly 4 decades researchers have studied various aspects of membrane-
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coupled bioreactors. Yamamoto et al. (1989) were the first to introduce submerged
membranes in an aeration tank for solid/liquid separation. Prior to this, researchers
concentrated on crossflow membrane filtration in external circuits. These early
studies (e.g., Smith et al., 1969) used ultrafiltration membranes in the external
membrane circuit type and, although there are still studies with ultrafilters (e.g.,
Muller et al., 1995; Chaize and Huyard, 1991), the present trend is toward
microfiltration.
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B. Bioreactors with Submerged Membranes
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a jet aeration period (0.5 and 1 h) and a jet aeration pattern (15 min two times a
day and 30 min once a day) was investigated. The jet aeration flow rate was 20 l/
min.
The settling of solids to the bottom of the bioreactor and the creation of
anaerobic conditions resulted in the division of the bioreactor into two zones,
aerobic and anaerobic. This resulted in low MLSS in the aerobic zone that could
have reduced membrane clogging. The mean hydraulic retention time (HRT)was
determined after the permeate flux reached a steady state. The average flux was
around 4.17 l/m2.h, corresponding to an average HRT of 1 day under diurnally
varied loading. The diurnal variation had a minor effect on the nitrification process
because more than 80% nitrification was observed throughout the experiment.
The MLSS in the bioreactor was affected by the air flow rate. Optimum air
flow rate in this experiment was taken as 7.5 l/min, which provided sufficient
oxygen for the microorganisms and maintained low MLSS in the aerobic zone.
Direct membrane separation using hollow fiber membranes in an activated
sludge process was investigated on a pilot scale by Chiemchaisri et al. (1992). The
experimental set up used for this study is shown in Figure 8. The system consists
of two parts, the main bioreactor and a separation unit. A separation unit of 10 l
volume was immersed in the main bioreactor, which had a 62-l volume. Two
hollow fiber membrane modules 0.03 and 0.1 m pore size) of 0.3 m2 surface area
each were placed in the separation unit. Paddles driven by a motor provided a
cross-flow of mixed liquor across the membrane surface at a speed of 290 rpm in
10-s cycles in alternate directions. By providing highly turbulent conditions within
the separation zone in conjunction with jet aeration inside the membrane module,
sludge accumulation on the membrane surface and inside the module was reduced.
The permeate flux obtained after 330 days of operation was 8.33 l/m2.h (0.2 m3/
m2d) under intermittent suction. A high degree of organic matter reduction (> 85%)
was observed with 20.8 and 16.5 mg/l of COD in the effluent during continuous
and intermittent aeration modes, respectively. The degree of nitrification and
denitrification was above 90% during intermittent aeration (90 min aeration and 90
min rest) at a dissolved oxygen level of 4 to 5 mg/l. However, at similar intervals
of intermittent aeration at a low dissolved oxygen level (1.5 to 2 mg/l), a reduction
in nitrification and denitrification efficiency (80%) resulted in 4.9 mg/l of total
nitrogen in the effluent. In addition, a virus reduction of 4 to 6 log number was
reported.
Buissson et al. (1998) reported on the concept of immersed membranes for
upgrading wastewater treatment plants. The pilot plant consisted of two reactors in
series, the first one under anoxic conditions and the second one with aeration. In
this denitrification-nitrification mode, the unit was fed with municipal wastewater.
The hollow fiber modules were directly immersed in this aerated tank. Aerators
were positioned at the bottom of the membrane modules to provide the required
amount of air to promote turbulence and increase mass transfer in the vicinity of
the membranes. The membranes were backwashed with treated water at regular
intervals with permeate to remove the filter cake. The researchers reported a sludge
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FIGURE 8. Schematic of experimental system. (From Chiemchaisri, 1990.)
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concentration of 15 g MLSS/l and a volumetric loading of 1.2 kg COD/m3/d with
96% COD and 95% total Kjeldahl nitrogen (TKN) removal.
In parallel with the development of hollow fiber submerged membrane bioreactor
systems, Japanese researchers developed Kuboto submerged flat plate membrane
systems. This process has been tested on a pilot scale in the U.K. (Churchouse,
1998; McCann, 1998). In this system (shown in Figure 9), flat plate microfiltration
membrane panels housed within a rectangular box are submerged in an activated
sludge tank and a coarse bubble aeration system is placed at the bottom of
the membrane module. The aerated sludge that rises between the panels provides
sufficient recirculation of sludge at the membrane surface. It also generates an
upward cross-flow over the membrane surface and keeps surface fouling to a
minimum. The permeate from the system is obtained either by a low-pressure
(0.1 bar) suction pump or by gravity. The module arrangement and the aeration
system require very little membrane cleaning. Using a mechanical water jet, the
modules are washed once a year. In addition, this system needs in situ cleaning two
to four times per year for flux improvement. The system was tested in degritted
sewage with a denitrification and nitrification arrangement with wide variation in
effluent quality (30 to 2100 mg/l BOD and 100 to 4000 mg/l COD) (Churchouse,
1998). The final effluent from this process consistently met a 5:1:1 (BOD:SS: NH3-
N) standard with 96% removal achieved of COD and BOD. The average sludge
production was 0.3 kg/kg BOD, which is approximately 40% of the normal
activated sludge process production rate.
A comparison of operating conditions and corresponding performances of
several submerged membrane bioreactors is presented in Table 8.
FIGURE 9. Schematic of the Kubota membrane unit operation and panel construction.
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C. Membrane as Air Diffuser and Clarifier
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addition therefore may provide further enhancement of degradation rates, although
any improvement would have to be offset against the costs of additives.
Visvanathan et al. (1997) used a 0.1 m hollow fiber membrane module
directly in the reactor for solid-liquid separation of domestic wastewater with
permeate flow outside-to-inside arrangement. During short-term experiments, the
effect of transmembrane pressures, intermittent mode of operation and duration of
air diffusion were investigated to determine the optimum conditions corresponding
to a high and constant flux obtained. Variations in transmembrane pressure were
studied with values of 13.3, 21.3, 32.0, and 41.0 kPa. It was found that a transmem-
brane pressure of 13 kPa was the limiting pressure for all experiments. The
different operating modes studied by varying duration of effluent filtration and air
diffusion through the membrane were 5:5, 10:10, 15:15, 30:30, 60:60, and 15:15*
(15* = 15 min without air).
The results show that an operational mode of 15:15 min provides the best
results. Although cyclic operation with air diffusion could not completely elimi-
nate clogging, the air diffusion through the membrane backwash technique in this
mode of experiment could improve the flux by up to 370% compared with a
continuous operation.
These experimental results also indicated that the transmembrane pressure
increased according to cake formation on the membrane. Steep increases in trans-
membrane pressure were observed even under air diffusion conditions. Periodic
chemical cleaning was needed in order to recover the permeate flux, which
exhibited good quality in terms of very low SS and BOD.
During the experimental runs the sludge was not removed from the reactor, and
more than 90% reduction in COD with influent concentration of 200 to 300 mg/l
and effluent concentration below 20 mg/l was achieved in all runs. The TKN
removal was more than 90%, and total phosphate removal was approximately 50%
in all runs. The MLVSS/MLSS ratio in the bioreactor was in the order of 20 to
30%. Solid matter mass balance calculation indicated a steady accumulation of
inorganic components within the reactor. The lower fraction of active microorgan-
isms in the bioreactor did not show any significant effect on the process efficiency.
Nevertheless, it is anticipated that in longer runs it might, and periodic sludge
draining therefore would be advisable.
The possibility of using microfiltration hollow fiber membrane modules as air
diffusers and solid/liquid separators in alternating cycles for activated sludge
process treating domestic wastewater was reported by Parameshwaran et al. (1998).
The activated sludge system consisted of an anoxic and oxic zone for better
nitrogen removal. Two hollow fiber microfiltration modules with a pore size of
0.2 m were immersed in an 80-l oxic tank (MBR) to effect the direct solid/liquid
separation (Figure 11). Filtration and high-pressure air backwashing were em-
ployed in alternating cycles to improve the flux rate. Backwashing the membrane
with air was used to aerate the activated sludge in the reactor. This achieved
distinct advantages of membrane declogging and aerating reactor contents simul-
taneously.
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FIGURE 11. Membrane as air diffuser and solid/liquid separator.
In short-term experimental runs, it was found that membrane module are better
air diffusers than stone air diffusers. It was also found that increased backwash air
pressure leads to improved flux rate.
The efficiency of membrane coupled bioreactor systems at different hydraulic
retention times of 15, 10, 6, and 3 h was studied in long-term experiments.
Wastewater was fed to the anoxic tank that passed into the MBR. The contents of
the MBR were recycled to the anoxic tank to effect denitrification. The average
MLSS concentration in the system varied between 12,000 to 14,000 mg/l, and the
sludge age in the MBR was maintained at 50 days throughout the study. The
desired HRT could be maintained at 15, 10, and 6 h with a moderate transmem-
brane pressure (< 42 kPa), but not at 3 h.
Irrespective of the operating conditions, in all experiments COD, BOD, TKN
and total nitrogen removal of more than 95, 98, 95, and 80%, respectively, was
achieved. This study established that using a hollow fiber membrane capable of air
backwashing to solid/liquid separation leads to aeration of mixed liquor and
declogging of membrane modules simultaneously and that conventional aerators
could be eliminated. By using anoxic/oxic systems, efficient total nitrogen removal
can also be achieved.
Since its introduction more than 4 decades ago, anaerobic treatment has
become a well-established process for concentrated industrial wastewater and
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32
municipal sludge management. In recent years, there has been a better understand-
ing of the microbiology of this process and improved reactor design has made it
possible to consider them for treatment of dilute low-strength wastewater.
The major difficulty in anaerobic wastewater treatment processes is the reten-
tion of a sufficient quantity of an active biomass due to their slow net growth rates.
As a result, anaerobic systems require a longer minimum solids retention time
(SRT). Operating below this minimum SRT would result in microorganisms being
washed out of the system at a faster rate than the growth rate leading to system
failure. Anaerobic treatment is not popular due to its low efficiency and inability
to meet discharge regulations despite the advantages of generating methane fuel
gas and low sludge yield. Also, these systems are unable to cope with shock
loading and wide fluctuations in influent flow.
The loading rates in anaerobic wastewater treatment systems are mostly dic-
tated by the biomass retention in the reactor. High biomass retention will give good
reactor performance, leading to better gas yields and better-quality effluent. A
lower retention capability will lead to a longer hydraulic retention time (HRT), thus
requiring reactors of larger volume and higher cost. These problems could be
overcome if the biomass in the reactor can be retained longer than the minimum
SRT, thus increasing biomass concentration.
For dispersed growth anaerobic systems, a high concentration of biomass
retention was achieved through improved separator performance by the use of
chemical coagulants and modifications in processes and component design. Apart
from this, various anaerobic reactor configurations, such as anaerobic filters,
fluidized bed reactors, upflow anaerobic sludge blanket reactors (UASB), rotating
contactors, etc. are advocated with a view to longer sludge retention times and
shorter hydraulic retention times. Although all these systems needed less space
compared with the suspended growth anaerobic systems. Except UASB all other
systems use part of their space to accommodate the media on which biomass
attached. However, the problems associated with UASBs are related to the require-
ment for a suitable seed sludge that can be granulized and maintenance of an
appropriate organic loading rate and close control of environmental conditions. In
this situation, the application of membrane separation for anaerobic wastewater has
some distinct advantages:
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Some studies have indicated that a higher methane production rate was
obtained in anaerobic MBR
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the surface of the membrane, is a self-cleaning method unique to the cyclic
operation procedure, and in the long run is probably the most important mechanism
for achieving long-term practical flux levels. The water quality of the treated
effluent is similar, if not better, than that of secondary treatment effluent. For
example, E.coli and turbidity are below the detection limit, while BOD is reduced
by 85 to 95% for an influent concentration of 270 mg/l. A particular feature of this
system is its ability to reduce the initial feed nitrate concentration of 3.5 mg/l by
about 75%. The anaerobic rate of digestion of organic carbon in the septic tank is
enhanced by a factor of 3 to 4 because of the increased concentration of microor-
ganisms and substrate caused by membrane. The pH stability of the digester is
excellent (6.5 to 7.2), even with intermittent loading. The sludge accumulation was
less than in an ordinary septic tank.
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An extremely high initial permeation flux of 62.5 l/m2.h at 400 kPa inlet
pressure that gradually decreased to 37.5 l/m2.h after 7 months continuous
operation. Temporary substitution of the original module by a new one also
gave a flux of 37.5 l/m2.h, indicating that the flux decline was not caused
by membrane fouling, but by changes in the digester contents, for example,
the SS in the digester increased over the 7 months to 50 kg/m3 from an initial
concentration of 30 kg/m3
Building up of biomass occurred in the digester, with a concomitant in-
crease in the permissible volumetric loading rate notwithstanding the poor
settleability of the sludge. During the study period, the load rate increased
from 4 to 12 kg COD/m3.d
The operating flux was successfully maintained for a period of several
weeks before membrane cleaning was necessary
The degree of COD removal was 93%, based on a feed and effluent
concentration of 37.0 and 2.6 kg/m3, respectively.
FIGURE 13. Diagram of pilot-scale ADUF process applied for anaerobic treatment.
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TABLE 9
Mean Operating Criteria of ADUF Plants Treating Various Industrial Effluents
37
Membrane area m2 0.44 1.75 9.6 200 800
Flux L/m2.h 1040 4080 2040 1530 1070
Inlet pressure kPa 340 400 500 500 600
Crossflow velocity m/s 1.5 2.0 1.8 1.8 1.6
Tube diameter mm 9.0 12.7 9.0 12.7 9.0
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(OLR) ranging from 12 to 20 kg COD/m3.d. The SRT was achieved by deliberately
wasting reactor sludge from the system. The SRT range was between 83 to 53 days.
Six steady states were attained over a MLSS range of about 31,000 to 38,000 mg/l.
It was found that rate of gas production in the reactor increased with increasing
OLR. The methane content of the reactor gas declined from 65.3 to 57.1%.
Methane yield ranged from 0.26 to 0. 29 m3 CH4/kg COD. However, no sudden
increase in volatile acids concentration were recorded during the study, indicating
that the anaerobic system coped quite well with the increasing loading rates. The
reduced methane content could be due to the much higher influent COD, resulting
in a higher rate of carbon dioxide formation by the acid-forming bacteria in the
reactor.
The treatment efficiency of the membrane anaerobic system showed a consis-
tent COD removal of above 96%. The highest influent COD applied to the system
was 84,010 mg/l, and the corresponding effluent COD for this was 3100 mg/l,
which represents a COD removal of 96.3%. It was further observed that MLSS and
MLVSS increased with increasing OLR.
The rise in MLVSS concentration indicates that the bacterial population,
including methanogenic bacteria, increased with the higher influent COD applied.
Further increases in the OLR were possible in order to achieve further bacterial
growth leading to a much higher MLVSS concentration in the reactor. During the
experimental study, the SRT was reduced from 83.3 to 58.8 days due to the
increase in the deliberate sludge wastage rate from the reactor. This was necessary
in order to offset the drop in membrane flux from the UF module over the period
of the study. The results indicate that a membrane anaerobic treatment system is
suitable when higher biomass retention and its treatment efficiency is expected.
The study showed that the incorporation of membranes in a system enable it to
retain active bacterial populations and produce a clear effluent as final permeate.
The system also showed that it was capable of higher loading rates and has yet to
achieve its maximum treatment capability. This was a result of good control of
bacterial populations in the reactor provided by the UF membranes. Throughout
the study there was negligible biomass loss through the effluent/permeate.
In an experiment by Harada et al. (1994), the permeate flux decreased signifi-
cantly as the cultivation time elapsed. This may have been brought about by the
formation of a gel layer on the membrane surface. This phenomenon was caused
by insolubilization of high molecular organic substances. In addition, the increase
in MLSS enhanced the deposition of cells to the gel layer matrix and accelerated
the deterioration of the flux. Although washing with water eliminated some of the
gel layer, the permeate flux was not restored to 100% of the initial level after each
wash. In the membrane bioreactor the major portion of the organics present were
substances with molecular weights (MW) as large as 106, while the permeate
consisted of substances with MWs less than 1500. This large difference in molecu-
lar size between the concentrate and the permeate implies that the membrane was
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38
capable of not only separating suspended or colloidal matters but also fractionating
soluble organics by molecular size. The exclusion of higher molecular size mate-
rials from the permeate is attributable to the formation of gel layers on the
membrane surface. The formation of a gel layer is responsible for the decline in
permeate flux, although it is useful for production of high-quality effluent.
A comparison of different studies with anaerobic bioreactors followed by
membrane separation is presented in Table 10.
Strohwald (1994), cited in Ross and Strohwald (1994), carried out a capital and
operating cost estimate for a 1500 m3/d ADUF system with energy recovery from
the generated biogas. The design incorporated a total digester volume of 1800 m3
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39
Operating Conditions and Performances of Anaerobic MBR Process
TABLE 10
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TABLE 11
Comparison of Membrane Bioreactor and Conventional Activated Sludge
Process
Plant area (m2) Flow control tank 13.4 Flow control tank 13.4
ASA tanka 20.0 ASA tankb 66.7
Sedimentation tank 66.7
Presediment. tank 5.0
Sedimentation tank 10.0
Sludge 13.5
concentration tank
and total MEMTUF membrane area of 1400 m2. The specific cost calculations are
summarized in Table 13, assuming a 5-year depreciation and interest at 20%, based
on a total capital cost for the system of 385,000. The redemption of capital is the
largest cost contributing factor expected. With respect to the operating cost break-
down, a conservative 2-year membrane life was assumed for membrane replace-
ment. The combined specific capital and operating cost of 0.04 per m3 effluent
treated for a complete ADUF plant compares favorably with the cost for direct
disposal of untreated effluent to municipal treatment works. The added benefit of
water conservation by possible permeate increases the economic attractiveness of
on site ADUF treatment.
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TABLE 12
Comparison of Operational Variables and Cost Parameters for Three Different
Membrane Bioreactor Systems
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TABLE 13
Specific Cost Summary of a Full-Scale ADUF Plant
VIII. CONCLUSION
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
The authors thank Terry Clayton, Centre for Language and Education Tech-
nology, Asian Institute of Technology, Thailand, for his kind assistance in review-
ing and editing the final manuscript of this paper.
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