title: Effect of solids retention time on nitrogen and phosphorus removal from municipal wastewater in a sequencing batch membrane bioreactor.
abstract: This study evaluated the removal of organic matter, nitrogen and phosphate from a municipal wastewater in a sequencing batch membrane bioreactor (SBMBR) operated at different solids retention times (SRTs) and subjected to different aeration profiles. The results demonstrated that SRT reduction from 80 to 20 d had a negligible effect on chemical oxygen demand (COD) removal and only a slight negative effect on nitrification. COD removal efficiency remained stable at 97%, whereas ammonium removal decreased from 99% to 97%. The total nitrogen removal efficiency was improved by SRT reduction, increasing from 80% to 86%. Although the total phosphorus (TP) removal was not significantly affected by the SRT reduction, ranging from 40-49%, the P-release and P-uptake processes were observed to increase as the SRT was reduced. The implementation of a pre-aeration phase in the SBMBR operating cycle allowed a higher TP removal performance, which reached up to 76%. Batch tests suggested that the fraction of phosphate removed anoxically from the total (anoxic + aerobic) phosphate removal decreased with the SRT reduction.
authors.affiliation: a Department of Sanitary and Environmental Engineering , Federal University of Santa Catarina , Florianópolis , SC , Brazil.
authors.forename: Tiago José
authors.initials: TJ
authors.lastname: Belli
authors.affiliation: b Department of Chemistry and Biology , Technological Federal University of Paraná , Curitiba , PR , Brazil.
authors.forename: Jossy Karla Brasil
authors.initials: JK
authors.lastname: Bernardelli
authors.affiliation: a Department of Sanitary and Environmental Engineering , Federal University of Santa Catarina , Florianópolis , SC , Brazil.
authors.forename: Rayra Emanuelly
authors.initials: RE
authors.lastname: da Costa
authors.affiliation: c Chemical Engineering Program - COPPE, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro , Rio de Janeiro , RJ , Brazil.
authors.forename: João Paulo
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Bassin
authors.affiliation: d Department of Sanitary and Environmental Engineering , Federal University of Minas Gerais , Belo Horizonte , MG , Brazil.
authors.forename: Miriam Cristina Santos
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Amaral
authors.affiliation: a Department of Sanitary and Environmental Engineering , Federal University of Santa Catarina , Florianópolis , SC , Brazil.
authors.forename: Flávio Rubens
authors.initials: FR
authors.lastname: Lapolli
mesh_terms: D019149:Bioreactors / Q000382:microbiology; D009584:Nitrogen / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D010758:Phosphorus / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D014865:Waste Disposal, Fluid / Q000379:methods*; D018508:Water Purification / Q000379:methods*
chemical_list: D010758:Phosphorus; D009584:Nitrogen
keywords: Nutrient removal; membrane bioreactor; sequencing batch reactor; solids retention time; wastewater treatment