title: Environmental impact of submerged anaerobic MBR (SAnMBR) technology used to treat urban wastewater at different temperatures.
abstract: The objective of this study was to assess the environmental impact of a submerged anaerobic MBR (SAnMBR) system in the treatment of urban wastewater at different temperatures: ambient temperature (20 and 33°C), and a controlled temperature (33°C). To this end, an overall energy balance (OEB) and life cycle assessment (LCA), both based on real process data, were carried out. Four factors were considered in this study: (1) energy consumption during wastewater treatment; (2) energy recovered from biogas capture; (3) potential recovery of nutrients from the final effluent; and (4) sludge disposal. The OEB and LCA showed SAnMBR to be a promising technology for treating urban wastewater at ambient temperature (OEB=0.19 kW h m(-3)). LCA results reinforce the importance of maximising the recovery of nutrients (environmental impact in eutrophication can be reduced up to 45%) and dissolved methane (positive environmental impact can be obtained) from SAnMBR effluent.
authors.affiliation: Institut Universitari d'Investigació d'Enginyeria de l'Aigua i Medi Ambient (IIAMA), Universitat Politècnica de València, Camí de Vera s/n, 46022 Valencia, Spain. Electronic address: rutprejo@upv.es.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Pretel
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Robles
authors.forename: M V
authors.initials: MV
authors.lastname: Ruano
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Seco
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ferrer
mesh_terms: D000693:Anaerobiosis; D056804:Biofuels; D019149:Bioreactors; D002947:Cities; D004777:Environment; D008567:Membranes, Artificial; D008697:Methane / Q000032:analysis; D012722:Sewage; D013431:Sulfates / Q000032:analysis; D013696:Temperature; D014865:Waste Disposal, Fluid; D062065:Wastewater / Q000737:chemistry*; D018508:Water Purification / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods*
chemical_list: D056804:Biofuels; D008567:Membranes, Artificial; D008697:Methane; D012722:Sewage; D013431:Sulfates; D062065:Wastewater
keywords: Energy balance; Environmental impact; Global warming potential; Life cycle assessment; Submerged anaerobic MBR (SAnMBR)