The sludge dewaterability in membrane bioreactors

Abstract

The influence of the sludge origin on the dewaterability features has been investigated by comparing the experimental results of six membrane bioreactor pilot plants with different configurations. The capillary suction time (CST) and the specific resistance to filtration (SRF), identified as representative of sludge dewaterability features, were measured. The results were related to operational parameters, such as extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) and soluble microbial product (SMP), influent salinity and hydrocarbon, in order to elucidate the influence exerted on the dewaterability. Furthermore, the effect of biofilm and suspended biomass was also investigated. The results showed that during the experimentation carried out with salt and hydrocarbon the sludge dewaterability features significantly worsened (CST above 120 s and SRF above 20 * 1012 m kg-1). Furthermore, the sludge derived from the anoxic reactor resulted as the most affected by EPS and SMP concentration.