Use of Membrane Bioreactor for Biodegradation of MTBE in Contaminated Water
Publication: Journal of Environmental Engineering
Volume 128, Issue 9
Abstract
An ultrafiltation membrane bioreactor was evaluated for biodegradation of methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE) in contaminated water. The system was fed 5 mg/L MTBE in granular activated carbon (GAC) treated Cincinnati tap water containing ample buffer and nutrients. Within 120 days the culture had adapted to membrane operational conditions and was consistently achieving greater than 99.95% biological removal of both MTBE and tert-butyl alcohol. This condition was steadily maintained for the next 200 days of study. Effluent dissolved organic carbon values remained at or below concentrations of the feed GAC treated tap water alone. An increase in biomass concentration as measured by volatile suspended solids was observed to correlate with an increase in MTBE removal efficiency. Some operational observations, including fouling, recovery from an accident, and overall performance, are described.
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Information
Published In
Journal of Environmental Engineering
Volume 128 • Issue 9 • September 2002
Pages: 836 - 841
Copyright
Copyright © 2002 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Feb 13, 2002
Accepted: Mar 19, 2002
Published online: Aug 15, 2002
Published in print: Sep 2002
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