title: Performance evaluation of a pilot-scale anaerobic membrane bioreactor (AnMBR) treating ethanol thin stillage.
abstract: The ethanol industry has grown rapidly during the past ten years, mainly due to increasing oil prices. However, efficient and cost-effective solutions for treating thin stillage wastewater have still to be developed. The anaerobic membrane bioreactor (AnMBR) technology combines classical anaerobic treatment in a completely-stirred tank reactor (CSTR) with membrane separation. The combination of these two technologies can achieve a superior effluent quality and also increase biogas production compared to conventional anaerobic solutions. A pilot-scale AnMBR treating thin stillage achieved very high treatment efficiencies in terms of chemical oxygen demand (COD) and total suspended solids (TSS) removal (>98%). An average permeate flux of 4.3 L/m2 x h was achieved at relatively low transmembrane pressure (TMP) values (0.1-0.2 bars) with flat-sheet membranes. Experience gained during the pilot-scale studies provides valuable information for scaling up of AnMBRs treating complex and high-strength wastewaters.
authors.affiliation: Biothane Systems International, Delft, The Netherlands. R.K.Dereli@tudelft.nl
authors.forename: R K
authors.initials: RK
authors.lastname: Dereli
authors.forename: D R
authors.initials: DR
authors.lastname: Urban
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Heffernan
authors.forename: J A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Jordan
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ewing
authors.forename: G T
authors.initials: GT
authors.lastname: Rosenberger
authors.forename: T I
authors.initials: TI
authors.lastname: Dunaev
mesh_terms: D000693:Anaerobiosis; D057919:Biological Oxygen Demand Analysis; D019149:Bioreactors; D004867:Equipment Design; D000431:Ethanol; D005374:Filtration; D007220:Industrial Waste; D014865:Waste Disposal, Fluid / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods*
chemical_list: D007220:Industrial Waste; D000431:Ethanol