Reducing bacterial aerosol emissions from membrane bioreactors: The impact of SRT and the addition of PAC and calcium

Abstract

Bacterial aerosols resulting from membrane bioreactor (MBR) processes, which require excessive aeration in a confined space, are important to investigate because of their possible adverse effects on human health. This study investigated the influence of solid retention time (SRT) on bacterial aerosols from MBRs. Moreover, powdered activated carbon (PAC) and calcium were used to attenuate bacterial aerosol emissions from MBRs. The particulate matter (PM) emitted from the MBRs was reduced by 30.5 and 25.2% at SRTs of 20 and 80 d, respectively, compared to the level emitted at an SRT of 10 d. Total cell counts were similarly reduced at SRTs of 20 and 80 d. Longer SRTs also led to greater reductions in the particle size distribution of the sludge within 10 μm. Several factors in the MBR influenced the behavior of the bacterial aerosol emissions from the MBRs. This study showed that changes in viscosity and particle size induced by the SRT influenced the bacterial aerosol emissions in MBRs. Therefore, SRT was identified as an important design parameter affecting bacterial aerosol emissions in MBR processes. The amounts of particulate matter and bacterial aerosols were reduced in MBRs using PAC and calcium, both of which exerted an immediate effect on the bacterial aerosol emissions in MBRs by increasing the aerosol-particle size.

Keywords: Bacterial aerosol; Membrane bioreactor; Powdered activated carbon; Solid retention time.