Membrane adsorption bioreactor (MABR) for organics removal in drinking water treatment

Abstract:

To produce high quality drinking water more effeciently,a submerged membrane adsorption bioreactor (MABR) was evaluated for enhanced removal of organic matter from contaminated raw water.The results showed that the MABR was able to decrease influent TOC,CODMn,DOC and UV254,as well as BDOC and AOC by 41.3%,59.4%,36.7%,53.5%,67.9% and 44.0%,respectively,when powdered activated carbon (PAC) was dosed in the reactor at 8 mg/L.In the MABR,physical separation by the membrane,biodegradation by microorganism and adsorption by PAC were identified to jointly contribute to the removal of dissolved organic matter,with the respective contribution of 11.1%,7.6% and 18.0% in terms of DOC removal.However,enhanced separation effect on dissolved organic matter in the mixed liquor was observed for the membrane in MABR,which was attributed to a dynamic sludge layer formed on the membrane surface based on microscopic analysis.Taking into account of the short hydraulic retention time (0.5 h),MABR technology may be both technically and economically promising for application in drinking water treatment.