Investigation of MBR performance and sludge morphology in treatment of furfural containing wastewater

Furfural with the chemical formula C۵H۴O۲ is one of the most widely used toxic chemicals in industries, which can cause serious risks to health and the environment. Therefore, reducing the production and improving the wastewater treatment methods of these industries is necessary to put an end to the pollution caused by these industries. In the present study, a new method has been presented to remove furfural from synthetic wastewater using a developed biological method, which is a combination of activated sludge process and membrane filtration for wastewater treatment and recycling. Furfural containing wastewater with a furfural constant concentration of ۵۰۰ mg/L was introduced into the membrane bioreactor (MBR) operating at a hydraulic retention time (HRT) and a sludge retention time (SRT) of ۲۴ h and ۲۰ days, respectively and its effect on the system performance and sludge morphology was investigated during the ۴۲ days operation. The results showed that furfural did not have an inhibitory effect on the aerobic metabolic activity of activated sludge and the removal efficiency of furfural, chemical oxygen demand (COD) and turbidity was ۹۹.۹±۰.۱%, ۹۷.۸±۰.۵% and ۸۴.۵±۰.۸%, respectively. The values of sludge volume index (SVI) and supernatant turbidity (ST) of the sludge showed the change in the morphology of the sludge to high compressibility and bio flocculating ability. According to the successful and satisfactory results of MBR performance obtained in the present study, the method introduced in this study can be successfully used to treat furfural in industrial wastewater.

کلیدواژه ها:

Biological treatment ، Membrane bioreactor ، Furfural wastewater ، Filamentous bulking ، Membrane fouling