Development and permeability of a dynamic membrane for anaerobic wastewater treatment

Dynamic membranes (DMs) have recently been proposed as an alternative to microfiltration and ultrafiltration in membrane bioreactors (MBRs) in order to contain capital and management costs. This study aims to develop an anaerobic dynamic MBR for wastewater treatment by using a large pore-sized mesh. The study demonstrated that a DM can be developed by using a mesh of 200 μm pore-size and applying low cross flow velocity. The bench-scale reactor achieved COD removal efficiency between 65% and 92% and proved to be able to remove approximately 99% of the mixed liquor suspended solids, maintaining a solids retention time well above 200 d. A significant quantity of biogas was produced by the external dynamic membrane module and was released with the effluent stream. The flux-step experiment, designed to estimate the critical flux in ultrafiltration MBR, can also be used for monitoring the development and stability of DMs.