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Updated: Jan 5, 2026
A Novel Bioreactor for High Density Cultivation of Diverse Microbial Communities
Published on: December 25, 2015
Simultaneous nitrification-denitrification using baffled osmotic membrane bioreactor-microfiltration hybrid system at
Nirenkumar Pathak1, Sherub Phuntsho1, Van Huy Tran1
1School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Technology, Sydney (UTS), Post Box 129, Broadway, NSW, 2007, Australia.
Abstract:
The efficacy of a baffled osmotic membrane bioreactor-microfiltration (OMBR-MF) hybrid system equipped with thin film forward osmosis membrane for wastewater treatment was evaluated at laboratory scale. The novel OMBR-MF hybrid system involved baffles, that separate oxic and anoxic zones in the aerobic reactor for simultaneous nitrification and denitrification (SND), and a bioreactor comprised of thin film composite-forward osmosis (TFC-FO) and polyether sulfone-microfiltration (PES-MF) membranes. The evaluation was conducted under four different oxic-anoxic cycle patterns. Changes in flux, salinity build-up, and microbial activity (e.g., extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) were assessed. Over the course of a 34 d test, the OMBR-MF hybrid system achieved high removal of total organic carbon (TOC) (86-92%), total nitrogen (TN) (63-76%), and PO4-P (57-63%). The oxic-anoxic cycle time of 0.5-1.5 h was identified to be the best operating condition. Incorporation of MF membrane effectively alleviated salinity build-up in the reactor, allowing stable system operation.
