Comparative study on treatment performance, membrane fouling, and microbial community profile between conventional and hybrid sequencing batch membrane bioreactors for municipal wastewater treatment

• Published in: Environmental science and pollution research international 2018-11, Vol.25 (32), p.32767-32782
• Main Authors: da Costa, Rayra Emanuelly, Lobo-Recio, Maria Angeles, Battistelli, André Aguiar, Bassin, João Paulo, Belli, Tiago José, Lapolli, Flávio Rubens
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Ammonium; Ammonium Compounds; Aquatic Pollution; Atmospheric Protection/Air Quality Control/Air Pollution; Bacteria; Bioaccumulation; Biofilms; Biological Oxygen Demand Analysis; Biomass; Bioreactors; Bioreactors - microbiology; Chemical oxygen demand; Communities; Comparative studies; Earth and Environmental Science; Ecotoxicology; Environment; Environmental Chemistry; Environmental Health; Environmental science; Filamentous bacteria; Fouling; Membrane processes; Membranes; Membranes, Artificial; Microbiomes; Microbiota; Microorganisms; Municipal wastewater; Nitrogen; Nitrogen removal; Nutrient removal; Organic chemistry; Organic matter; Phosphorus; Phosphorus removal; Polysaccharides; Proteins; Relative abundance; Research Article; Saccharides; Turbidity; Waste Disposal, Fluid - methods; Waste Water - microbiology; Waste Water Technology; Wastewater treatment; Water Management; Water Pollution Control
• ISSN: 0944-1344; 1614-7499
• DOI: 10.1007/s11356-018-3248-8

A sequencing batch conventional membrane bioreactor (SB-CMBR) and sequencing batch hybrid membrane bioreactor (SB-HMBR) were operated in parallel under two different hydraulic retention times (HRTs) (namely 12 h and 6 h), and their chemical oxygen demand (COD) and nutrient removal performance, membrane fouling behavior, and microbial community characteristics were compared. Both systems exhibited high organic matter (> 95%) and ammonium (> 98%) removal performance regardless of the HRT applied. As the HRT was reduced from 12 to 6 h, total nitrogen removal slightly increased in both reactors, being higher in the carrier-based MBR, where anoxic zones may have been established within the biofilm. Conversely, total phosphorus removal improved only in the SB-CMBR at the shorter HRT. Moreover, activity batch assays have shown a faster P uptake rate in the SB-CMBR than in the SB-HMBR, a result likely associated with the lower relative abundance of phosphate-accumulating organisms in both adhered and suspended biomass fractions in the hybrid MBR. The results also revealed that more pronounced increases in the transmembrane pressure and, consequently, in the membrane fouling rate at higher COD loading rates were observed in the SB-CMBR, where the soluble microbial products (proteins, polysaccharides, and especially, transparent exopolymer particles), supernatant turbidity, and filamentous bacteria were more significant. Overall, as compared to the conventional MBR, the plastic media-based SB-HMBR showed a lower fouling propensity at all hydraulic conditions tested.