Pilot study of a submerged membrane bioreactor for water reclamation

摘要

The objective of this pilot study was to investigate the operational conditions of newly developed MBR modules for water reclamation under tropical conditions. MUDC-620A MBR modules with hollow fibre PVDF membranes from Asahi-Kasei Chemicals were used in the study. The pilot plant with capacity of 50 m(3)/d was operated continuously (24-hour) over four months on site of Ulu Pandan Water Reclamation Plant (UPWRP) in Singapore. During the study, the MLSS in membrane tank was in the range of 6,840 similar to 9,540 mg/L. Filtration operation mode of the membrane unit was 9 minutes on production and 1 minute backwash. The air scouring for the membranes was 0.18-0.30 Nm(3)/h per m(2) membrane area all of the time. Trials on different membrane fluxes were conducted to obtain the sustainable flux. The analytical results showed that COD, TOC, T-N and NH4-N of the treated water were < 30 mg/L, 5-7 mg/L, < 13 mg/L and < 0.1 mg/L, respectively, which met the requirement of Industrial Water for reuse. TMP was in the range of 12-40 kPa and could be recovered after cleaning with 2,000 mg/L sodium hypochlorite solution. Sludge clogging could be a challenge for long-term operation with the current module design. It was concluded that it was feasible for MUDC-620A MBR to operate at a net flux of 25-29 LMH (or 0.6-0.7 m/d) for treating the municipal wastewater at UPWRP.