Impact of membrane addition for effluent extraction on the performance and sludge characteristics of upflow anaerobic sludge blanket reactors treating municipal wastewater

Hale Ozgun*, Juan B. Gimenez, Mustafa Evren Ersahin, Yu Tao, Henri Spanjers, Jules B. van Lier

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

60 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

In this study, the impact of membrane incorporation for effluent extraction on the performance of an upflow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB) reactor treating municipal wastewater was investigated in terms of system performance and sludge characteristics. A laboratory-scale system was operated in two different operational stages: (i) as a sole UASB reactor and (ii) as an anaerobic membrane bioreactor (AnMBR). Membrane incorporation induced an accumulation of fine particles and a decrease in extracellular polymeric substances (EPS), resulting in a decrease in particle size distribution (PSD) and, thus, a drop in sludge settleability. Deterioration of sludge settleability led to an increase in sludge washout, with a resultant increase in chemical oxygen demand (COD) and total suspended solids (TSS) in the UASB effluent. However, suspended solids-free permeate with an average COD of 42. mg/L was obtained and despite the sludge bed deterioration, the average transmembrane pressure (TMP) value was 85. mbar indicating no severe membrane fouling. Pyrosequencing analysis demonstrated the increase in microbial community indexes of the UASB sludge after membrane addition, exhibiting an increase in both richness and evenness. Considering all responses of the UASB reactor to membrane incorporation, the overall results put UASB reactor forward as a suitable alternative for coupling membranes in AnMBRs.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)95-104
Number of pages10
JournalJournal of Membrane Science
Volume479
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Apr 2015

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2014 Elsevier B.V.

Funding

The authors would like to express their gratitude for the PhD Fellowship awards provided by the Turkish Academy of Sciences (TUBA) to Hale Ozgun, by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness to Juan B. Gimenez, by HUYGENS Scholarship Program to M. Evren Ersahin and by the China Scholarship Council to Yu Tao. This publication is produced as part of the A-Racer project, with Pentair, Saxion, TU Delft, Water Board Regge & Dinkel as partners. The project (IWA10007) is partly funded by the Dutch Government via AgentschapNL under the InnoWator program.

FundersFunder number
AgentschapNL
Dutch Government
HUYGENS
TUBA
Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad
Türkiye Bilimler Akademisi
China Scholarship CouncilIWA10007

    Keywords

    • Anaerobic membrane bioreactor
    • Membrane incorporation
    • Microbial community
    • Municipal wastewater
    • Upflow anaerobic sludge blanket reactor

    Fingerprint

    Dive into the research topics of 'Impact of membrane addition for effluent extraction on the performance and sludge characteristics of upflow anaerobic sludge blanket reactors treating municipal wastewater'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

    Cite this