Effects of wastewater treatment process parameters on performance of membrane-aerated biofilm reactors

BAO Jinfeng; ZHU Yuanyuan; XU Shantian; XU Bailong; CAO Limin; HUANG Xia

doi:10.13205/j.hjgc.202507011

Volume 43 Issue 7

Jul. 2025

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BAO Jinfeng, ZHU Yuanyuan, XU Shantian, XU Bailong, CAO Limin, HUANG Xia. Effects of wastewater treatment process parameters on performance of membrane-aerated biofilm reactors[J]. ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING , 2025, 43(7): 95-103. doi: 10.13205/j.hjgc.202507011

Citation:

BAO Jinfeng, ZHU Yuanyuan, XU Shantian, XU Bailong, CAO Limin, HUANG Xia. Effects of wastewater treatment process parameters on performance of membrane-aerated biofilm reactors[J]. ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING , 2025, 43(7): 95-103. doi: 10.13205/j.hjgc.202507011

Citation:

BAO Jinfeng, ZHU Yuanyuan, XU Shantian, XU Bailong, CAO Limin, HUANG Xia. Effects of wastewater treatment process parameters on performance of membrane-aerated biofilm reactors[J]. ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING , 2025, 43(7): 95-103. doi: 10.13205/j.hjgc.202507011

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Effects of wastewater treatment process parameters on performance of membrane-aerated biofilm reactors

doi: 10.13205/j.hjgc.202507011

1. School of Environment, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China;
2. Zhejiang Kaichuang Env. Tech. Co, Ltd., Hangzhou 310000, China

Received Date: 2024-04-18
Accepted Date: 2024-06-30
Rev Recd Date: 2024-05-21

Available Online: 2025-09-11

Abstract

Abstract

Taking municipal wastewater as the research object， the operating parameters such as operating pressure， air flow rate， mixed liquor suspended solids （MLSS）， ammonia nitrogen （NH4+-N） load， and temperature of the membrane-aerated biofilm reactor （MABR） process were investigated to analyze the impacts on the performance of the MABR. The MABR membrane in this study was dense and non-porous， and the process was anaerobic + anoxic + aerobic （A²O） +MABR. The denitrification performance of the MABR was analyzed by comparing the oxygen demand for nitrification by nitrifying bacteria attached to the MABR membrane with oxygen transfer rate （OTR） of the membrane. Changes in NH4+-N and total nitrogen （TN） in the MABR zone， along with microbial abundance in the biofilm attached to the membrane， were also investigated to evaluate MABR denitrification efficiency. The study showed that the supply pressure of MABR had no significant effect on OTR of the MABR membrane within the range of 50~77 kPa， nor did it significantly affect the nitrification rate （NR）. In contrast， the air flow rate was positively correlated with the OTR within the range of 4.5~8.0 m³/h. The NR of the MABR initially increased and then stabilized with the increasing of the air flow rate. Temperature variations within 14℃ to 30℃ in the MABR zone showed no significant correlation with its nitrification performance. Similarly， the MLSS in the MABR zone also demonstrated no significant correlation with nitrification performance. The NR initially increased and then stabilized with the increasing of ammonia nitrogen load of MABR zone. There was a positive correlation between the reduction of ammonia nitrogen and total nitrogen in the MABR zone. The oxygen transported by the MABR membrane was mainly used for the nitrification process in the biofilm attached to the membrane surface. In terms of microbial abundance， the abundance of nitrifying bacteria on the MABR membrane was higher than that in the activated sludge system. Similarly， in terms of microbial quantity， the amount of nitrifying bacteria on the MABR membrane was also greater than that in the activated sludge system. In summary， the MABR exhibited a superior impact resistance compared to the conventional process. For actual MABR projects， this study provides reasonable guidance for commissioning and operation.
- membrane-aerated biofilm reactor,
- supply pressure,
- air flow rate,
- nitrification performance,
- nitrification rate,
- oxygen transfer rate

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References(26)

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