Effect of Phosphorus on Operation and Characteristics of MBR
Publication: Journal of Environmental Engineering
Volume 125, Issue 8
Abstract
The impact of phosphate-phosphorus loading on the biological characteristics and operational performance of a pilot-scale, aerobic membrane bioreactor (MBR) system was investigated. The system was operated to steady state under conditions of limited and excess phosphorus. The microbial population in the MBR was not effected substantially under either phosphorus condition and was highly effective in the oxidation and nitrification of a municipal strength, high protein, synthetic wastewater. Overall metabolic activity and some specific enzymes, particularly phosphotases, decreased significantly in the presence of excess phosphorus. Although more phosphorus was utilized by the microbial population when the feed phosphorus concentration was increased, degradation of the soluble organic compounds did not change significantly. After the increase of phosphorus in the bioreactor, the organic content of the effluent increased and stabilized at higher levels. Phosphorus spiking experiments showed that phosphorus adsorbed to the particulate phase of the sludge and caused an immediate increase in the concentration of organic compounds in the effluent. Excess phosphorus released organic matter of a size smaller than 0.1 μm into the soluble phase of the bioreactor, resulting in the deterioration of the permeate. It was concluded that phosphorus is an important factor in the operation of an MBR, and excess amounts or shock loads reduce the effectiveness of the system.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
References
1.
“Api-zym for the research of enzymatic activities # 25200.” (1991). Bio Merieux S. A., Lyon, France.
2.
Boczar, B. A., Begley, W. M., and Larson, R. J. (1992). “Characterization of enzyme activity in activated sludge using rapid analyzes for specific hydrolases.” Water Envir. Res., 64, 792–797.
3.
Butcher, G. J. (1989). “Experiences with anaerobic digestion of wheat starch processing waste.” Int. Biodeterioration, 25, 71–77.
4.
Chiemchaisri, C., Wong, Y. K., Urase, T., and Yamamoto, K. (1992). “Organic stabilization and nitrogen removal in membrane separation bioreactor for domestic wastewater treatment.” Water Sci. and Technol., 25, 231–240.
5.
Cicek, N., Franco, J. P., Suidan, M. T., Urbain, V., and Manem, J. (1997a). “Characterization and comparison of a membrane bioreactor and a conventional activated sludge system in the treatment of wastewater containing high molecular weight compounds.” Water Envir. Res. 71, 64–70.
6.
Cicek, N., Winnen, H., Suidan, M. T., Wrenn, B. E., Urbain, V., and Manem, J. (1997b). “Effectiveness of the membrane bioreactor in the biodegradation of high molecular weight compounds.” Water Res., 32, 1553–1563.
7.
Dubois, M., Gilles, K. A., Hamilton, J. K., Rebers, P. A., and Smith, F. (1956). “Colorimetric method for determination of sugars and related substances.” Analytical Chem., 28, 350–356.
8.
Dufresne, R., Lavallée, H. C., Lebrun, R. E., and Lo, S. N. (1996). “Étude comparative de l'opération d'un système de bioréacteur à membranes et d'un système de boues activées conventionnel pour le traitement des effluents papetiers.” Proc., 82nd Annu. Meeting, Tech. Sect., CPPA, B1–B7 (in French).
9.
Findlay, R. H., King, G. M., and Watling, L. (1989). “Efficacy of phospholipid analysis in determining microbial biomass in sediments.” Appl. Envir. Microbiol., 55, 2888–2893.
10.
Fontvieille, D. A., Outaguerouine, A., and Thevenot, D. R. (1992). “Fluorescein diacetate hydrolysis as a measure of microbial activity in aquatic systems: Application to activated sludges.” Envir. Technol., London, 13, 531–540.
11.
Hogetsu, A., Ishikawa, T., Yoshikawa, M., Tanebe, T., Yudate, S., and Sawada, J. (1992). “High rate anaerobic digestion of wool scouring wastewater in a digester combined with membrane filter.” Water Sci. and Technol., 25(7), 341–350.
12.
Ishida, H. Y., Tsuboi, M., and Matsumura, S. (1993). “Submerged membrane activated sludge process (KSMASP)—Its application into activated sludge process with high concentration of MLSS.” Proc., 2nd Int. Conf. on Advances in Water and Effluent Treatment, IAWQ, 321–330.
13.
Kimura, S. (1991). “Japan's aqua renaissance '90 project.” Water Sci. and Technol., 23, 1573–1582.
14.
Knoblock, M. D., Sutton, P. M., Mishra, P. N., Gupta, K., and Janson, A. (1994). “Membrane biological reactor system for treatment of oily wastewaters.” Water Envir. Res., 66, 133–139.
15.
Krauth, K., and Staab, K. F. (1993). “Pressurized bioreactor with membrane filtration for wastewater treatment.” Water Res., 27, 405–411.
16.
Manem, J., and Sanderson, R. ( 1996). “Membrane bioreactors.” Water treatment: Membrane processes. McGraw-Hill, New York, 17.1–17.31.
17.
Manem, J., Trouve, E., Beaubien, A., Huyard, A., and Urbain, V. (1993). “Membrane bioreactor for urban and industrial wastewater treatment: recent advances.” Proc., 66th Annu. Conf., 51–59.
18.
Metcalf and Eddy ( 1991). Wastewater Engineering: Treatment, disposal, reuse. McGraw-Hill, New York, 378–403.
19.
Minami, K. (1994). “A trial of high performance anaerobic treatment on wastewater from a kraft pulp mill.” Desalination, 98, 273–283.
20.
Muller, E. B., Stouthamer, A. H., van Verseveld, H. W., and Eikelboom, D. H. (1995). “Aerobic domestic waste water treatment in a pilot plant with complete sludge retention by cross-flow filtration.” Water Res., 29, 1179–1189.
21.
Nagano, A., Arikawa, E., and Kobayashi, H. (1992). “The treatment of liquor wastewater containing high-strength suspended solids by membrane bioreactor system.” Water Sci. and Technol., 26, 887–895.
22.
Pouet, M. F., Grasmick, A., Homer, F., Nauleau, F., and Cornier, J. C. (1994). “Tertiary treatment of urban wastewater by cross flow microfiltration.” Water Sci. and Technol., 30(4), 133–139.
23.
Schnürer, J., and Rosswall, T. (1982). “Fluorescein diacetate hydrolysis as a measure of total microbial activity in soil and litter.” Appl. Envir. Microbiol., 43, 1256–1261.
24.
Standard methods for the examination of water and wastewater. (1992). American Public Health Association, American Water Works Association, and Water Environment Federation, Washington, D.C.
25.
Sutton, P. M., and Evans, R. R. (1983). “Anaerobic system designs for efficient treatment of industrial wastewater.” Proc., 3rd Symp. on Anaerobic Digestion, IAWQ.
26.
Sutton, P. M., Li, A., Evans, R. R., and Korchin, S. R. (1993). “Dorr-Oliver's fixed-film, suspended growth anaerobic system for industrial wastewater treatment and energy recovery.” Proc., 37th Industrial Waste Conf., Lewis Publishing, 667–675.
27.
Trouve, E., Dupont, C., Huyard, A., and Manem, J. (1994a). “Cost of anaerobic treatment of wastewaters on membrane bioreactors: Optimal filtration device.” Proc., 7th Int. Symp. on Anaerobic Digestion, 567–576.
28.
Trouve, E., Urbain, V., Manem, J. (1994b). “Treatment of municipal wastewater by a membrane bioreactor: Results of a semi-industrial pilot-scale study.” Water Sci. and Technol., 30, 151–157.
29.
Urbain, V., Benoit, R., and Manem, J. (1996). “Membrane bioreactor: A new treatment tool.” J. AWWA, 88, 75–86.
30.
Water analysis handbook. (1992). HACH Co., Loveland, Colo.
31.
Winnen H., et al. (1996). “Effectiveness of the membrane bioreactor in the biodegradation of high molecular weight compounds.” Water Sci. and Technol., 34(9), 261–267.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
History
Received: Aug 31, 1998
Published online: Aug 1, 1999
Published in print: Aug 1999
Authors
Metrics & Citations
Metrics
Citations
Download citation
If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.