Design and testing of a pilot-scale submerged membrane bioreactor (MBR) for textile wastewater treatment

Abstract The objective of this paper is to deal with the design of a pilot-scale submerged membrane bioreactor (MBR) and a short-term functionality test to be performed with textile wastewater. The design calculations were done based on the design parameters analysed from local textile wastewater and typical values of activated sludge kinetic coefficients. Other process parameters like bioreactor volume (tank size), hydraulic residence time (HRT), biomass loading (F/M ratio), oxygen demand, etc., were calculated depending on the real textile wastewater characteristics. Taking the design basis into consideration, a pilot-scale MBR was constructed equipped with LabVIEW programme- and sensors-controlled computer system. Based on the theoretical calculations, the hydraulic volume of the MBR reactor was around 56.6 L with flat sheet membranes (3 sheets, with 25 cm × 25 cm dimensions of each sheet) with HRT of 16.9 h. Finally, performance tests for 6 weeks were carried out in a local (Darmstadt, Germany) laundry textile wastewater to test the functionality of MBR pilot plant. Under the operating conditions of 250 mbar suction pressure and 12 g/L of MLSS, the COD removal efficiency was around 90% for 800–3500 mg/L inlet COD fed to the membrane bioreactor