Comparative analysis of floc characteristics and microbial communities in anoxic and aerobic suspended growth processes

An update on hybrid membrane aerated biofilm reactor technology

The hybrid membrane aerated biofilm reactor (MABR) process combines the advantages of the counter-diffusional biofilm and bubbleless aeration of the MABR with the good bioflocculation and carbon processing capabilities of suspended growth processes. These features result in a process with reduced physical footprint, excellent biological nutrient removal capabilities, potentially reduced greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and significantly reduced energy requirements that can be easily retrofitted into existing suspended growth processes. Commercially introduced in the mid-2010s, the demonstrated advantages of the hybrid MABR process are resulting in rapid full-scale adoption. Meanwhile, researchers are advancing knowledge on the hybrid MABR process and revealing potential opportunities for improved performance. This paper summarizes recent findings and identifies areas that can be further developed to advance hybrid MABR process evaluation and development. PRACTITIONER POINTS: Rapid application of the hybrid MABR process is leading to significant new developments that can enhance performance. Sizing MABR for nearly complete nitrification allows significant downsizing of the bioreactor, coupled with excellent nitrogen removal and energy savings. Online exhaust gas % O2 and bulk ammonia concentration can be used to create a soft sensor characterizing changes in biofilm thickness enabling biofilm control to optimize performance. Further advancements through improved aeration control, configurations to achieve partial nitritation and annammox, and achieving granulation offer further significant advances.

Strict anoxic conditions significantly impact the metabolism of particulate and colloidal organic matter and bio-P compared to aerobic conditions

Fully anoxic suspended growth treatment of domestic wastewater is rarely performed in practice at large scale. However, recent advances in membrane aerated biofilm reactor (MABR) technology can enable the "hybrid" concept that couples nitrification in the MABR with anoxic suspended growth for biological nitrogen removal. Small scale sequencing batch reactors were constructed to compare high-rate anoxic metabolization of influent carbon and biological phosphorus removal side-by-side with a conventional aerated system in a low-strength domestic wastewater (COD/TN ratio of approximately 6). Little differences existed in the oxidation of soluble readily biodegradable organic material between the two systems, but hydrolysis of particulate and colloidal organic matter in the anoxic reactor over a range of solid retention times was 60 % of the aerobic reactor. Reduced hydrolysis limited the amount of carbon available to ferment to volatile fatty acid (VFA), adversely impacting anoxic biological phosphorus removal (bio-P) process rates, and ortho-P removal performance was diminished by more than half at equivalent SRTs. At optimal growth conditions, i.e., an SRT of approximately 8 days and with supplementary VFA, ortho-P removal from the influent averaged roughly 75 %. Experimentation with supplemented acetic acid showed reduced anoxic metabolic efficiency, quantified via a P/O ratio of 0.90 versus 1.7 for the aerobic system, although overall anoxic bio-P removal demonstrably increased with external carbon.

The hybrid MABR process achieves intensified nitrogen removal while N2O emissions remain low

The hybrid membrane aerated biofilm reactor (MABR) process represents a full-scale solution for sustainable municipal wastewater treatment. However, most of the existing hybrid MABR processes retain large aerobic bioreactor volumes for nitrification, which is undesirable for energy and carbon savings. In this study, we used the plant-wide modeling approach with dynamic simulations to examine a novel hybrid MABR configuration with aeration controls that change the anoxic and aerobic fractions of the bioreactor volume. Result showed that the novel hybrid MABR showed "swinging" nitrification and denitrification capacities in response to diurnal loadings, achieving intensified nitrogen removal performance under both warm and cold temperature scenarios. N2O emissions from the hybrid MABR were only 1/5 of the emissions from the conventional activated sludge. The model predicted higher CH4 emissions from the hybrid MABR than the activated sludge process due to the methanogen growth in the oxygen-depleted MABR biofilm layer. Future measurements for CH4 emission are needed to obtain a holistic picture of the carbon footprint of the hybrid MABR process.