Effects of sulphur on the performance of an anaerobic membrane bioreactor: Biological stability, trace organic contaminant removal, and membrane fouling

Xiaoye Song; Wenhai Luo; James McDonald; Stuart J Khan; Faisal I Hai; Wenshan Guo; Hao H Ngo; Long D Nghiem

doi:10.1016/j.biortech.2017.11.021

Effects of sulphur on the performance of an anaerobic membrane bioreactor: Biological stability, trace organic contaminant removal, and membrane fouling

Bioresour Technol. 2018 Feb:250:171-177. doi: 10.1016/j.biortech.2017.11.021. Epub 2017 Nov 9.

Authors

Xiaoye Song¹, Wenhai Luo², James McDonald³, Stuart J Khan³, Faisal I Hai¹, Wenshan Guo⁴, Hao H Ngo⁴, Long D Nghiem⁵

Affiliations

¹ Strategic Water Infrastructure Laboratory, School of Civil Mining and Environmental Engineering, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, NSW 2522, Australia.
² Beijing Key Laboratory of Farmland Soil Pollution Prevention and Remediation, College of Resources and Environmental Sciences, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China.
³ School of Civil & Environmental Engineering, University of New South Wales, NSW 2052, Australia.
⁴ Centre for Technology in Water and Wastewater, School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Technology Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2007, Australia.
⁵ Strategic Water Infrastructure Laboratory, School of Civil Mining and Environmental Engineering, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, NSW 2522, Australia. Electronic address: longn@uow.edu.au.

PMID: 29169091
DOI: 10.1016/j.biortech.2017.11.021

Abstract

This study investigated the impact of sulphur content on the performance of an anaerobic membrane bioreactor (AnMBR) with an emphasis on the biological stability, contaminant removal, and membrane fouling. Removal of 38 trace organic contaminants (TrOCs) that are ubiquitously present in municipal wastewater by AnMBR was evaluated. Results show that basic biological performance of AnMBR regarding biomass growth and the removal of chemical oxygen demand (COD) was not affected by sulphur addition when the influent COD/SO₄^2- ratio was maintained higher than 10. Nevertheless, the content of hydrogen sulphate in the produced biogas increased significantly and membrane fouling was exacerbated with sulphur addition. Moreover, the increase in sulphur content considerably affected the removal of some hydrophilic TrOCs and their residuals in the sludge phase during AnMBR operation. By contrast, no significant impact on the removal of hydrophobic TrOCs was noted with sulphur addition to AnMBR.

Keywords: Anaerobic membrane bioreactor (AnMBR); Bioenergy; Biogas production; Sulphur content; Trace organic contaminants (TrOCs).

MeSH terms

Anaerobiosis
Biological Oxygen Demand Analysis
Bioreactors*
Membranes, Artificial
Sewage
Sulfur*
Waste Disposal, Fluid
Wastewater
Water Purification

Substances

Membranes, Artificial
Sewage
Waste Water
Sulfur