Biological Treatment of Wastewater Containing Phenolic Compounds Using a Submerged Anaerobic Membrane Bioreactor (SAnMBR) Based on Hollow-Fiber Membrane

Background and Objective: An anaerobic membrane bioreactor (AnMBR) is a biological treatment process which offers an attractive option for treating industrial wastewaters under extreme conditions. In this research, the capability of a submerged AnMBR with polypropylene hollow fiber membranes for the treatment of synthetic industrial wastewater containing ۲, ۴-dichlorophenol (۲, ۴-DCP) has been evaluated and reported.Materials and Methods: In this study, a laboratory-scale submerged AnMBR system with an operational volume of ۸ L was operated under mesophilic (۳۶ ±۱°C) condition to treat synthetic wastewater containing ۲, ۴-dichlorophenol. The performance of the SAnMBR was evaluated during ۱۸۹ days and different organic loadings (۰.۱۲۵ to ۰.۷۹۸ kg m−۳ day−۱) in terms of COD removal, biogas production potential, and membrane performance. The quality of effluent was assessed at different HRTs and ۲, ۴-dichlorophenol concentration.Findings: SAnMBR had a robust performance on COD and ۲, ۴DCP removal. It be could be attributed to its enhanced biomass retention capacity. The average COD removal rate was ۸۵.۷۲ % and the minimum and maximum COD removal efficiency were ۳۹.۵ and ۹۳.۱۷, respectively. the average removal efficiency of ۲, ۴DCP was ۹۱.۹ % with influent ۲, ۴DCP concentration in a range of ۵-۳۰۰ mg/L. The output turbidity level decreased to ۳۵.۰۹ NTU with ۶۳.۹۷% average removal rate which was a good and satisfying result for bioreactor wastewater. In summary, it was observed that OLR variations and ۲, ۴-DCP played influential role in COD removal efficiency during some operation periods, resulting in decreasing microbial activity.Conclusions: The results showed that a lab-scale SAnMBR is very effective in treating phenol-containing wastewater and adapted quickly to both gradual and sudden changes in OLR. So, we can conclude that this SAnMBR can be a reliable tech for anaerobic treatment of high organic load and resistant compounds.

کلیدواژه ها:

Biological treatment ، anaerobic membrane bioreactors ، Hollow-fiber membrane ، Industrial wastewater