Application of a water-energy-carbon coupling index to evaluate the long-term operational stability of the anaerobic-anoxic-oxic-membrane bioreactor (A2/O-MBR) process under the influence of rainstorms

Lian Yu; Kaiming Peng; Yizhen Huang; Feng Chen; Shoubin Chen; Yulong Xia; Xiangfeng Huang; Xiaojing Ni; Ru Guo; Chen Cai; Jia Liu

doi:10.1016/j.watres.2024.121489

Application of a water-energy-carbon coupling index to evaluate the long-term operational stability of the anaerobic-anoxic-oxic-membrane bioreactor (A²/O-MBR) process under the influence of rainstorms

Water Res. 2024 May 15:255:121489. doi: 10.1016/j.watres.2024.121489. Epub 2024 Mar 19.

Authors

Lian Yu¹, Kaiming Peng², Yizhen Huang³, Feng Chen³, Shoubin Chen⁴, Yulong Xia⁴, Xiangfeng Huang⁵, Xiaojing Ni¹, Ru Guo⁵, Chen Cai⁵, Jia Liu⁶

Affiliations

¹ College of Environmental Science and Engineering, State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resource Reuse, Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Yangtze River Water Environment, Tongji University, Shanghai 200092, PR China.
² College of Environmental Science and Engineering, State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resource Reuse, Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Yangtze River Water Environment, Tongji University, Shanghai 200092, PR China; Institute of Carbon Neutrality, Tongji University, Shanghai 200092, PR China; Shanghai Institute of Pollution Control and Ecological Security, Shanghai 200092, PR China. Electronic address: pengkaiming@tongji.edu.cn.
³ Fujian Haixia Environmental Protection Group Co., Ltd, Fujian 350014, PR China.
⁴ Fuzhou City Construction Design & Research Institute Co., Ltd, Fujian 350001, PR China.
⁵ College of Environmental Science and Engineering, State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resource Reuse, Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Yangtze River Water Environment, Tongji University, Shanghai 200092, PR China; Institute of Carbon Neutrality, Tongji University, Shanghai 200092, PR China.
⁶ College of Environmental Science and Engineering, State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resource Reuse, Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Yangtze River Water Environment, Tongji University, Shanghai 200092, PR China; Institute of Carbon Neutrality, Tongji University, Shanghai 200092, PR China. Electronic address: liujia@tongji.edu.cn.

PMID: 38552489
DOI: 10.1016/j.watres.2024.121489

Abstract

In the context of global climate change, sudden rainstorms and typhoons induce fluctuations in hydraulic shocks to wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) in coastal areas, causing two challenges of stable effluent quality and low-carbon operation. We established a quantitative evaluation method for resistance of wastewater treatment processes to hydraulic shocks based on the water-energy-carbon nexus using operational data from a WWTP in southeast coastal China from July 2018 to December 2022. The effects of hydraulic shocks on the operational stability of the anaerobic-anoxic-oxic-membrane bioreactor (A²/O-MBR) process were analyzed following five steps. The results showed that the gray water footprint (GWF) of the process was 9.3% lower than that of the A²/O process. The energy footprint (ENF) and carbon footprint (CF) were approximately 2.1 times and 1.7 times higher than those of the A²/O process, respectively. The resistance to hydraulic shocks of the A²/O-MBR process is approximately 5.5 times higher than that of the A²/O process. In conclusion, the A²/O-MBR process exhibits higher process operational stability when subjected to hydraulic shocks, which is more conducive to the efficient and stable operation of WWTPs in rainstorm and typhoon-prone areas. The evaluation methodology provides qualitative technical support for selecting upgrading processes for WWTPs in different regions.

Keywords: A(2)/O-MBR process; Hydraulic shocks; Operational stability; Water-energy-carbon nexus.