Treatment of textile wastewater in a single-step moving bed-membrane bioreactor: Comparison with conventional membrane bioreactor in terms of performance and membrane fouling

Tecirli E. S., Akgun K., ÇAĞLAK A., SARI ERKAN H., Onkal Engin G.

Water and Environment Journal, 2024 (SCI-Expanded) identifier

  • Yayın Türü: Makale / Tam Makale
  • Basım Tarihi: 2024
  • Doi Numarası: 10.1111/wej.12942
  • Dergi Adı: Water and Environment Journal
  • Derginin Tarandığı İndeksler: Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-EXPANDED), Scopus, Agricultural & Environmental Science Database, Applied Science & Technology Source, Aqualine, Aquatic Science & Fisheries Abstracts (ASFA), CAB Abstracts, Compendex, Computer & Applied Sciences, Environment Index, Geobase, Greenfile, INSPEC, Pollution Abstracts, Veterinary Science Database
  • Anahtar Kelimeler: membrane fouling, moving-bed membrane bioreactor, textile wastewater, traditional membrane bioreactor, treatment performance
  • Yıldız Teknik Üniversitesi Adresli: Evet

Özet

Membrane bioreactor (MBR) is a promising technology for the treatment of municipal and industrial wastewater, including highly contaminated textile wastewater. However, membrane fouling remains a critical challenge due to reduced flux. This study investigates the efficacy of a moving bed MBR (MB-MBR) technology for textile wastewater treatment, focusing on chemical oxygen demand (COD) removal, and its impact on mitigating membrane fouling. In a 50-day study, a conventional MBR (R1) was compared with an MB-MBR (R2) augmented with free-floating biocarriers (accounting for 20% of the reactor volume). Both systems used flat sheet ceramic membrane modules. The results indicate that the MB-MBR achieved superior performance, with COD and colour removal of 89% and 81%, respectively, compared with 87% and 73% in the conventional MBR. Importantly, the introduction of biocarriers eliminated the need for offline physical membrane cleaning in the MB-MBR. The free-floating biocarriers lowered transmembrane pressure, reduced capillary suction time and reduced fouling through their scouring action.