Effects of sulfate on activated sludge characteristics and membrane fouling in membrane bioreactor treating penicillin wastewater

• DOI: 10.1016/j.jwpe.2020.101594
• Publication Date: 2020-08-21T11:01:56Z
• Authors: Juanjuan Zhou; Xiao Liang; Jing Luo; Weiwei Chen; Jinrong Liu
• Keywords: Membrane bioreactor; Membrane Fouling; Ultrafiltration (renal)

Abstract Treating penicillin wastewater is receiving more and more attention, because penicillin has strong anti-oxidant, anti-degradation and strong inhibitory effect on microbial growth. Membrane bioreactor (MBR) with stable and superior performance, has been used in the treatment of pharmaceutical wastewater. In this paper, effects of sulfate on activated sludge and membrane fouling in MBR treating penicillin wastewater were investigated. The results showed MBR could guarantee excellent effluent in the chemical oxygen demand (COD) and ammonia nitrogen (NH4+-N) removal. However, sulfate reduced the biodegradability of wastewater due to the changes in microbial species and the inhibition of microbial metabolic activity. Difference in the transmembrane pressure (TMP) indicated that sulfate made membrane fouling more serious. Colloids which exacerbated the clogging of the membrane pores and the formation of a dense cake layer, were the major contributor to membrane fouling.