Simultaneous nitrification/denitrification and trace organic contaminant (TrOC) removal by an anoxic-aerobic membrane bioreactor (MBR)

Hop V Phan; Faisal I Hai; Jinguo Kang; Hoa K Dam; Ren Zhang; William E Price; Andreas Broeckmann; Long D Nghiem

doi:10.1016/j.biortech.2014.03.094

Simultaneous nitrification/denitrification and trace organic contaminant (TrOC) removal by an anoxic-aerobic membrane bioreactor (MBR)

Bioresour Technol. 2014 Aug:165:96-104. doi: 10.1016/j.biortech.2014.03.094. Epub 2014 Mar 27.

Authors

Hop V Phan¹, Faisal I Hai², Jinguo Kang³, Hoa K Dam⁴, Ren Zhang⁵, William E Price⁶, Andreas Broeckmann⁷, Long D Nghiem⁸

Affiliations

¹ Strategic Water Infrastructure Lab, School of Civil, Mining and Environmental Engineering, University of Wollongong, NSW 2522, Australia; Molecular Biology Lab, School of Biological Sciences, University of Wollongong, NSW 2522, Australia.
² Strategic Water Infrastructure Lab, School of Civil, Mining and Environmental Engineering, University of Wollongong, NSW 2522, Australia. Electronic address: faisal@uow.edu.au.
³ Strategic Water Infrastructure Lab, School of Civil, Mining and Environmental Engineering, University of Wollongong, NSW 2522, Australia; Strategic Water Infrastructure Lab, School of Chemistry, University of Wollongong, NSW 2522, Australia.
⁴ Decision Systems Lab, School of Computer Science and Software Engineering, University of Wollongong, NSW 2522, Australia.
⁵ Molecular Biology Lab, School of Biological Sciences, University of Wollongong, NSW 2522, Australia.
⁶ Strategic Water Infrastructure Lab, School of Chemistry, University of Wollongong, NSW 2522, Australia.
⁷ GHD, 133 Castlereagh St, Sydney, NSW 2000, Australia.
⁸ Strategic Water Infrastructure Lab, School of Civil, Mining and Environmental Engineering, University of Wollongong, NSW 2522, Australia.

PMID: 24726773
DOI: 10.1016/j.biortech.2014.03.094

Abstract

Simultaneous nitrification/denitrification and trace organic contaminant (TrOC) removal during wastewater treatment by an integrated anoxic-aerobic MBR was examined. A set of 30 compounds was selected to represent TrOCs that occur ubiquitously in domestic wastewater. The system achieved over 95% total organic carbon (TOC) and over 80% total nitrogen (TN) removal. In addition, 21 of the 30 TrOCs investigated here were removed by over 90%. Low oxidation reduction potential (i.e., anoxic/anaerobic) regimes were conducive to moderate to high (50% to 90%) removal of nine TrOCs. These included four pharmaceuticals and personal care products (primidone, metronidazole, triclosan, and amitriptyline), one steroid hormone (17β-estradiol-17-acetate), one industrial chemical (4-tert-octylphenol) and all three selected UV filters (benzophenone, oxybenzone, and octocrylene). Internal recirculation between the anoxic and aerobic bioreactors was essential for anoxic removal of remaining TrOCs. A major role of the aerobic MBR for TOC, TN, and TrOC removal was observed.

Keywords: Aerobic biodegradation; Anoxic membrane bioreactor; Biosorption; Redox conditions; Trace organic contaminant (TrOC).

Publication types

Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural

MeSH terms

Adsorption
Aerobiosis
Anaerobiosis
Bioreactors / microbiology*
Denitrification*
Membranes, Artificial*
Nitrification*
Nitrogen / isolation & purification
Organic Chemicals / isolation & purification*
Oxygen / analysis
Phosphorus / isolation & purification
Rheology
Sewage / microbiology

Substances

Membranes, Artificial
Organic Chemicals
Sewage
Phosphorus
Nitrogen
Oxygen