Performance evaluation of submerged membrane bioreactor for municipal wastewater treatment: Experimental study and model validation with GPS‐X software simulator

In this study, flat sheet submerged MBR (FS‐SMBR) was investigated under 6 and 4 h hydraulic retention times (HRT) and 40 days solid retention time with real municipal wastewater. The implementation of the treatment system was evaluated in terms of physico‐chemical and microbial analysis as well as sludge characterization. The permeate of FS‐SMBR complied with the standards for reuse and non‐detectable levels of faecal coliform was achieved at 6 and 4 h HRTs, with pore‐blocking resistances (Rt) of 28 × 1011 and 40 × 1011/m, respectively. Examining another dominant factor, that is, sludge viscosity, the best results were acquired using HRT 4 h for domestic wastewater. Furthermore, the results obtained were validated and calibrated using the GPS‐X software simulator, and the results of modelled data were completely matched with the experimental data under the same conditions.