Performance of submerged membrane bioreactor (SMBR) with and without the addition of the different particle sizes of GAC as suspended medium

Abstract

In this study the effect of different particle sizes of granular activated carbon (GAC) on the performance of a submerged membrane bioreactor (SMBR) was investigated. The sizes of GAC used were 150–300, 300–600 and 600–1200 lm. The SMBR was operated at a filtration flux of 20 L/m2 h. The removal of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and chemical oxygen demand (COD) with the addition of GAC was 95%. The concentration of biopolymers, humic, building block and low molecular weight neutral and acids in the SMBR effluent was reduced by 20%, 66–76%, 20–50%, 30–56%, respectively. It helped to reduce the sludge volume index (SVI) and transmembrane pressure (TMP) development by 30–40% and 58%, respectively. However, the removal of NH4+ and PO43- was relatively low of 35–45% and 34–43%, respectively. The SMBR effluent was rich in PO43- and was removed/recovered using hydrated ferric oxide (HFO). The removal of PO43- was almost 90%.