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Updated: Apr 4, 2026
Waste Water Derived Electroactive Microbial Biofilms: Growth, Maintenance, and Basic Characterization
Published on: December 29, 2013
Numerical modeling of an electrically enhanced membrane bioreactor (MBER) treating medium-strength wastewater
Adewale Giwa1, Shadi Wajih Hasan1
1Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, Institute Center for Water and Environment (iWATER), Masdar Institute of Science and Technology, P.O. Box 54224, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
Abstract:
In this paper, a numerical model of an electrically enhanced membrane bioreactor (MBER) was developed. MBER is a reactor that combines biological decomposition, membrane filtration and electrocoagulation of wastewater pollutants in a hybrid unit. To assess its design, the final contents and removal efficiencies of organics, nutrients, and metals were carried out using varying influent compositions. In a 60-day test of a laboratory-scale MBER, experimental results were used to calibrate and validate the model. The modeling results were in agreement with the experimental data and showed that the MBER can remove 99% of total phosphorus (TP), 99.9% of chemical oxygen demand (COD), 91% of total nitrogen (TN), 79% of nickel (Ni), 89% of iron (Fe), and 80% of chromium (Cr), using a current density of 15 A/m(2) intermittently supplied in a cycle of 5 min ON and 15 min OFF.
