Preliminary Design Analysis of Membrane Bioreactors Application in Treatment Sequences for Modernization of Wastewater Treatment Plants

Abstract

By using modeling with the Capdetworks software package, the study examines the definition of the essential elements of operational expenses at wastewater treatment facilities with a capacity of 1 to 100 thousand cubic meters per day. Four different treatment sequences were examined in the study; the first three revealed a standard setup with an activated sludge reactor and secondary clarifier (operating under various operating conditions), and the fourth scheme combined an activated sludge reactor with a submerged membrane bioreactor for sludge separation. The values of concentrations of key pollutants common for urban wastewater before treatment as well as technological parameters of operation were utilized as initial data for calculations because it was crucial to obtain conclusions that could be applied at real facilities. For each of the four treatment sequences, values for pollutants concentrations in effluent wastewater and hydraulic retention time were obtained and analyzed. The expenses of operating biological treatment facilities and treatment facilities in general, as well as the specific cost of power for treating 1 m3 of wastewater, were taken into account. Additionally, the price of purchasing membrane modules, which can be categorized as operational due to their replacement frequency of around every 7 to 10 years, was determined. The study’s findings demonstrated that the use of membrane technologies at the secondary treatment stage might significantly affect the rebuilding of wastewater treatment plants under conditions of increased capacity (flow rate) and constrained area for growth.