Membrane Bioreactors for Anaerobic Treatment of Wastewaters: Phase 2

This study assessed and compared the treatment performance of external and submerged membrane anaerobic membrane bioreactors when treating wastewater under varying conditions. This information will help facilities determine how best to operate facilities to achieve optimal MBR treatment performance. The study results indicated that treated effluent quality did not appear to be significantly affected by the type of membrane chosen for the application; rather, effluent quality was most impacted by the operation and performance of the anaerobic bioreactor component of the system. The data available indicated that, on average, anaerobic MBR treatment resulted in 72% removal of the raw wastewater chemical oxygen demand (COD) and about 65% BOD5 removal. This suggests that aerobic post-treatment may be needed to achieve a secondary quality effluent in terms of BOD5 or COD. Published by WERF. 104 pages. Soft cover.

Originally funded as WERF project 02-CTS-4a.