Comparison of sulfonated and other micropollutants removal in membrane bioreactor and conventional wastewater treatment
2007
De Wever, Heleen | Weiss, Stefan | Reemtsma, Thorsten | Vereecken, Johan | Müller, Jutta | Knepper, Thomas P. | Rörden, Ocke | González Blanco, Susana | Barceló, Damià | Hernando, María Dolores
11 pages, 5 figures, 3 tables.-- PMID: 17207834 [PubMed].-- Printed version published Feb 2007.
Show more [+] Less [-]Membrane bioreactors (MBRs) were compared with conventional activated sludge systems (CAS) for micropollutant degradation, in laboratory-scale spiking experiments with synthetic and real domestic wastewater. The target micropollutants were polar in nature and represented a broad range in biodegradability. The experimental data indicated that MBR treatment could significantly enhance removal of the micropollutants 1,6- and 2,7-naphthalene disulfonate (NDSA) and benzothiazole-2-sulfonate. 1,5-NDSA, EDTA and diclofenac were not removed in either the MBR or the CAS. The other compounds were equally well degraded in both systems. For 1,3-naphthalene disulfonate, the existence of a minimum threshold level for degradation could be demonstrated. Although MBRs could not always make a difference in the overall removal efficiencies achieved, they showed reduced lag phases for degradation and a stronger memory effect, which implies that they may respond quicker to variable influent concentrations. Finally, micropollutant removal also turned out to be less sensitive to system operational variables.
Show more [+] Less [-]The work described was supported by EU-project P-THREE (EVK1-CT-2002-00116).
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