Feasibility and application of membrane aerated biofilm reactors for industrial wastewater treatment

IF 12.4 1区环境科学与生态学 Q1 ENGINEERING, ENVIRONMENTAL Water Research Pub Date : 2025-03-20 DOI:10.1016/j.watres.2025.123523

Gennaro Dicataldo , Peter Desmond , Mashael Al-Maas , Samer Adham

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Abstract

Membrane aerated biofilm reactors (MABRs) have emerged as a promising technology for wastewater treatment, offering significant advantages over conventional activated sludge (CAS) systems. Over the past decades, membrane processes have revolutionized municipal water treatment with membrane bioreactors (MBRs) becoming a widely accepted process for municipal and then industrial wastewater (IW) treatment. By the same token, MABR technologies were initially applied to municipal wastewater; however, their application in industrial settings is still emerging. Despite the promise of MABRs due to the biofilm's tolerance to IW toxins, there is a lack of information on their industrial applications. Therefore, this paper critically reviews the feasibility and application of MABRs for IW treatment, including pharmaceutical, chemical, refinery, petrochemical, oilfield, landfill leachate and other complex industrial waters. Three existing technology vendors with full-scale experience were compared; however, additional providers with innovative designs may provide step-changes in performance. Key outcomes highlight the effectiveness of MABRs in reducing carbon, nitrogen, and xenobiotics from high-strength IWs at bench and pilot scales. Critical factors influencing MABR performance, such as biofilm thickness (BT) were correlated to organics and nitrogen removal efficiency in industrial applications. Review of advances in MABR modeling techniques showed that current models lack the needed resolution for large and dynamic industrial systems. Additionally, the review compares municipal and industrial applications of MABRs, emphasizing the unique challenges and innovations required for their adoption in IW treatment. Overall, the MABR process was found to be feasible for industrial applications with pilot and/or demonstration-scale testing being necessary to further optimize process performance.

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曝气膜生物膜反应器处理工业废水的可行性及应用

曝气膜生物膜反应器（MABRs）作为一种很有前途的污水处理技术，与传统的活性污泥（CAS）系统相比具有显著的优势。在过去的几十年里，膜工艺彻底改变了城市水处理，膜生物反应器（mbr）成为城市和工业废水（IW）处理的一种广泛接受的工艺。出于同样的原因，MABR技术最初应用于城市废水；然而，它们在工业环境中的应用仍在兴起。尽管由于生物膜对IW毒素的耐受性，MABRs的前景很好，但缺乏关于其工业应用的信息。因此，本文综述了MABRs处理废水的可行性和应用，包括制药、化工、炼油、石油化工、油田、垃圾渗滤液和其他复杂工业废水。对三家具有全面经验的现有技术供应商进行了比较；但是，具有创新设计的其他提供商可能会在性能上提供逐步变化。主要结果强调了MABRs在实验室和中试规模下从高强度IWs中减少碳、氮和异种生物的有效性。在工业应用中，生物膜厚度（BT）等影响MABR性能的关键因素与有机物和氮的去除效率相关。对MABR建模技术进展的回顾表明，目前的模型缺乏大型动态工业系统所需的分辨率。此外，本文还比较了MABRs的市政应用和工业应用，强调了在IW处理中采用MABRs所面临的独特挑战和创新。总的来说，MABR工艺在工业应用中是可行的，需要进行中试和/或示范规模的测试，以进一步优化工艺性能。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Water Research 环境科学-工程：环境

CiteScore

20.80

自引率

9.40%

发文量

1307

审稿时长

38 days

期刊介绍： Water Research, along with its open access companion journal Water Research X, serves as a platform for publishing original research papers covering various aspects of the science and technology related to the anthropogenic water cycle, water quality, and its management worldwide. The audience targeted by the journal comprises biologists, chemical engineers, chemists, civil engineers, environmental engineers, limnologists, and microbiologists. The scope of the journal include: •Treatment processes for water and wastewaters (municipal, agricultural, industrial, and on-site treatment), including resource recovery and residuals management; •Urban hydrology including sewer systems, stormwater management, and green infrastructure; •Drinking water treatment and distribution; •Potable and non-potable water reuse; •Sanitation, public health, and risk assessment; •Anaerobic digestion, solid and hazardous waste management, including source characterization and the effects and control of leachates and gaseous emissions; •Contaminants (chemical, microbial, anthropogenic particles such as nanoparticles or microplastics) and related water quality sensing, monitoring, fate, and assessment; •Anthropogenic impacts on inland, tidal, coastal and urban waters, focusing on surface and ground waters, and point and non-point sources of pollution; •Environmental restoration, linked to surface water, groundwater and groundwater remediation; •Analysis of the interfaces between sediments and water, and between water and atmosphere, focusing specifically on anthropogenic impacts; •Mathematical modelling, systems analysis, machine learning, and beneficial use of big data related to the anthropogenic water cycle; •Socio-economic, policy, and regulations studies.