Two-stage anaerobic fluidized-bed membrane bioreactor treatment of settled domestic wastewater

Abstract

A two-stage anaerobic fluidized-bed membrane bioreactor (SAF-MBR) system was applied for the treatment of primary-settled domestic wastewater that was further pre-treated by either 10 μm filtration or 1 mm screening. While the different pre-treatment options resulted in different influent qualities, the effluent qualities were quite similar. In both cases at a total hydraulic retention time of 2.3 h and 25 °C, chemical oxygen demand and biochemical oxygen demand (BOD5) removals were 84–91% and 92–94%, with effluent concentrations lower than 25 and 7 mg/L, respectively. With a membrane flux of 6–12 L/m2/h, trans-membrane pressure remained below 0.2 bar during 310 d of continuous operation without need for membrane chemical cleaning or backwashing. Biosolids production was estimated to be 0.028–0.049 g volatile suspended solids/g BOD5, which is far less than that with comparable aerobic processes. Electrical energy production from combined heat and power utilization of the total methane produced (gaseous and dissolved) was estimated to be more than sufficient for total system operation.