Hybrid process Membrane Bioreactor (MBR) in domestic wastewater treatment: Performance and process modeling

Title : Hybrid process Membrane Bioreactor (MBR) in domestic wastewater treatment: Performance and process modeling

Abstract:

Mathematical modeling of MBR treatment is an effective tool to predict effluent quality. Model calibration is critical to improve the accuracy of simulation. Membrane bioreactors (MBRs) consist of biological reactors combined with membrane separation processes. In this study, the parameters affecting the pollution and treatment efficiency of the MBR process were analyzed and compared in order to understand the pollution removal process sensitivity and their implications for the modeling. This work demonstrated the effective use of statistical modeling to enhance MBR process performance to obtain a sustainable and energy-efficient condition. Analysis of variance for developed quadratic models exhibits high significance and applicability. However, model is analyzed graphically for its predictive ability. The response surface methodology (RSM) was found useful statistical tool for understanding effect of HRT, TMP and AR as three operational parameters on pollution removal efficiency. Under the most optimum parameters, the HRT of 15h, and TMP of 14.9, MBR technology improved pollution removal efficiencies significantly, and the maximum pollution removal could be achieved. The most significant difference concerned the elimination of total suspended solids, which amounted to 99.7%. Regarding COD, a low concentration was obtained (15 mg/L) in the permeate. Greater differences were achieved in the case of total nutriments.

Biography:

Dr. Sarra Kitanou is Professor at the National School of Chemical Engineering, Ibn Tofail University. She is a research chemist at Advanced Materials and Process Engineering Laboratory. Her research has been on Process Engineering and Environment. Her focus is wastewater treatment using membrane technologies, especially membrane bioreactor (MBR). As a researcher applying environment perspectives, she has published widely in water research journals as well as wastewater treatment and environment journals. The research findings in her studies have also been discussed in many congresses and conferences around the world. Dr. Sarra Kitanou has also been speaker and lecturer in different conferences. She conducted different studies and development projects focusing on this field, among them that of the implementation of a wastewater treatment plant at the Ibn Tofail University campus.