title: Performance of submerged membrane bioreactor (SMBR) with and without the addition of the different particle sizes of GAC as suspended medium.
abstract: In this study the effect of different particle sizes of granular activated carbon (GAC) on the performance of a submerged membrane bioreactor (SMBR) was investigated. The sizes of GAC used were 150-300, 300-600 and 600-1200 μm. The SMBR was operated at a filtration flux of 20 L/m(2)h. The removal of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and chemical oxygen demand (COD) with the addition of GAC was 95%. The concentration of biopolymers, humic, building block and low molecular weight neutral and acids in the SMBR effluent was reduced by 20%, 66-76%, 20-50%, 30-56%, respectively. It helped to reduce the sludge volume index (SVI) and transmembrane pressure (TMP) development by 30-40% and 58%, respectively. However, the removal of NH₄(+) and PO₄(3-) was relatively low of 35-45% and 34-43%, respectively. The SMBR effluent was rich in PO₄(3-) and was removed/recovered using hydrated ferric oxide (HFO). The removal of PO₄(3-) was almost 90%.
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology, University of Technology, Sydney, Broadway, NSW 2007, Australia.
authors.forename: M A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Johir
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Shanmuganathan
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Vigneswaran
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kandasamy
mesh_terms: D064751:Ammonium Compounds / Q000737:chemistry; D057219:Biofouling; D057919:Biological Oxygen Demand Analysis; D018533:Biomass; D019149:Bioreactors; D002244:Carbon / Q000737:chemistry; D005290:Ferric Compounds / Q000737:chemistry; D007700:Kinetics; D008567:Membranes, Artificial; D010316:Particle Size; D010710:Phosphates / Q000737:chemistry; D012722:Sewage / Q000737:chemistry; D018508:Water Purification / Q000379:methods*
chemical_list: D064751:Ammonium Compounds; D005290:Ferric Compounds; D008567:Membranes, Artificial; D010710:Phosphates; D012722:Sewage; C000499:ferric oxide; D002244:Carbon