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Pilot scale treatment of polluted surface waters using membrane-aerated biofilm reactor (MABR)

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journal contribution
posted on 2017-11-08, 13:40 authored by Yi Li, Kaisong Zhang

The increasing threat to human health and aquatic life caused by nitrogen pollution in surface waters requires critical attention. The membrane-aerated biofilm reactor (MABR) is a promising alternative compared to conventional technologies. In this work, a pilot-scale MABR system was employed to treat polluted surface water in continuous-flow mode. The nitrogen removal performances with the variations of the aeration parameters, hydraulic loading and C/N ratio were explored. The results showed that intra-membrane pressure plays a dominant role in improving the denitrification rate. The nitrification dynamics of the MABR system were favoured in conditions of low influent C/N ratios and hydraulic loading, but limit the denitrification process due to insufficient carbon source. A counter optimal hydraulic loading of 0.016 m3/(m2 day) (hydraulic retention time of 36 h), and a corresponding increase in the influent C/N ratio was beneficial for nitrogen removal. When the influent C/N ratio was raised to a factor of 8, the total organic carbon (TOC), ammonium and total nitrogen (TN) removal efficiency could reach 80.0%, 92.2% and 60.3%, respectively. This indicated that the MABR has a potential to remove TN by simultaneous nitrification and denitrification (SND) in polluted surface water treatment.

Funding

This work was financially supported by the Key Project of International Cooperation, Bureau of International Co-operation, CAS [grant number 132C35KYSB20160018].

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