title: Wastewater treatment in a submerged anaerobic membrane bioreactor.
abstract: Although most membrane bioreactors are used under aerobic conditions, over the last few years there has been increased interest in their application for anaerobic processes. This paper presents the results obtained when a bench-scale submerged anaerobic membrane bioreactor was used for the treatment of wastewaters generated in the agro-food industry. The reactor was fed with synthetic wastewater consisting of cheese whey and sucrose, and volumetric organic loading rates (OLRs) ranging from 1.5 to 13 kgCOD/(m(3)*d) were applied. Under the operating conditions studied, the maximum applicable OLR was between 6 and 10 gCOD/(g*L), which fell within the ranges of the high-rate anaerobic wastewater treatment systems, while high concentrations of volatile fatty acids were produced at higher OLR rates. With an OLR of 1.5-10 gCOD/(g*L), the reactor showed 94% COD removal, whereas this value dropped to 33% with the highest applied OLR of 13 gCOD/(g*L). The study therefore confirms that membrane bioreactors can be used for anaerobic wastewater treatment.
authors.affiliation: ENEA (Italian National Agency for New Technologies, Energy and Sustainable Economic Development), Water Resource Management Section, Bologna, Italy.
authors.forename: Stefania
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Casu
authors.forename: Nedda A
authors.initials: NA
authors.lastname: Crispino
authors.forename: Roberto
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Farina
authors.forename: Davide
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Mattioli
authors.forename: Marco
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ferraris
authors.forename: Alessandro
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Spagni
mesh_terms: D000693:Anaerobiosis; D057919:Biological Oxygen Demand Analysis; D019149:Bioreactors; D002611:Cheese; D005232:Fatty Acids, Volatile; D019649:Food Industry; D013395:Sucrose; D014865:Waste Disposal, Fluid / Q000379:methods*
chemical_list: D005232:Fatty Acids, Volatile; D013395:Sucrose