[Pilot study on combined MBR-RO process for wastewater recovery]

Area of Science:

• Environmental Engineering
• Water Treatment Technologies
• Membrane Filtration

Context:

• Municipal wastewater treatment presents challenges in achieving high-quality effluent for reuse.
• Membrane Bioreactor (MBR) and Reverse Osmosis (RO) are advanced water treatment technologies.
• Direct municipal wastewater treatment and recovery requires robust pre-treatment for RO.

Purpose:

• To investigate the feasibility of an MBR system as a pre-treatment for RO in a combined MBR-RO pilot system.
• To assess the MBR-RO process for producing high-grade effluent from municipal wastewater.
• To evaluate pre-conditions impacting RO permeability and bio-fouling in the MBR-RO setup.

Summary:

• The A2/O-MBR technology effectively pre-treated municipal wastewater for RO.
• The MBR-RO system consistently produced effluent meeting drinking water standards (TOC < 1.3 mg/L, NH4+ -N < 0.03 mg/L, TN < 0.1 mg/L, TP undetectable, conductivity < 30 microS/cm, turbidity < 0.12 NTU).
• Complete rejection of inorganic ions was achieved, and no severe RO bio-fouling occurred over a 6-month study period.

Impact:

• MBR is a suitable pre-treatment for RO, enabling high-grade effluent production for water reuse.
• The MBR-RO process demonstrates a viable solution for direct municipal wastewater treatment and recovery.
• This approach minimizes RO bio-fouling, enhancing the long-term operational efficiency of wastewater treatment systems.