Improvement of MBBR-MBR Performance by the Addition of Commercial and 3D-Printed Biocarriers
Moving bed biofilm reactor combined with membrane bioreactor (MBBR-MBR) constitute a highly effective wastewater treatment technology. The aim of this research work was to study the effect of commercial K1 biocarriers (MBBR-MBR K1 unit) and 3D-printed biocarriers fabricated from 13X and Halloysite (...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2023-07-01
|
| Series: | Membranes |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0375/13/8/690 |
| _version_ | 1797583928945541120 |
|---|---|
| author | Dimitra C. Banti Petros Samaras Eleni Kostopoulou Vassiliki Tsioni Themistoklis Sfetsas |
| author_facet | Dimitra C. Banti Petros Samaras Eleni Kostopoulou Vassiliki Tsioni Themistoklis Sfetsas |
| author_sort | Dimitra C. Banti |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Moving bed biofilm reactor combined with membrane bioreactor (MBBR-MBR) constitute a highly effective wastewater treatment technology. The aim of this research work was to study the effect of commercial K1 biocarriers (MBBR-MBR K1 unit) and 3D-printed biocarriers fabricated from 13X and Halloysite (MBBR-MBR 13X-H unit), on the efficiency and the fouling rate of an MBBR-MBR unit during wastewater treatment. Various physicochemical parameters and trans-membrane pressure were measured. It was observed that in the MBBR-MBR K1 unit, membrane filtration improved reaching total membrane fouling at 43d, while in the MBBR-MBR 13X-H and in the control MBBR-MBR total fouling took place at about 32d. This is attributed to the large production of soluble microbial products (SMP) in the MBBR-MBR 13X-H, which resulted from a large amount of biofilm created in the 13X-H biocarriers. An optimal biodegradation of the organic load was concluded, and nitrification and denitrification processes were improved at the MBBR-MBR K1 and MBBR-MBR 13X-H units. The dry mass produced on the 13X-H biocarriers ranged at 4980–5711 mg, three orders of magnitude larger than that produced on the K1, which ranged at 2.9–4.6 mg. Finally, it was observed that mostly extracellular polymeric substances were produced in the biofilm of K1 biocarriers while in 13X-H mostly SMP. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T23:45:00Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-db05fab87bb04775a3b0202964bf5eed |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2077-0375 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T23:45:00Z |
| publishDate | 2023-07-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Membranes |
| spelling | doaj.art-db05fab87bb04775a3b0202964bf5eed2023-11-19T02:07:26ZengMDPI AGMembranes2077-03752023-07-0113869010.3390/membranes13080690Improvement of MBBR-MBR Performance by the Addition of Commercial and 3D-Printed BiocarriersDimitra C. Banti0Petros Samaras1Eleni Kostopoulou2Vassiliki Tsioni3Themistoklis Sfetsas4QLAB Private Company, Research & Development, Quality Control and Testing Services, 57008 Thessaloniki, GreeceDepartment of Food Science and Technology, School of Geotechnical Sciences, International Hellenic University, 57400 Thessaloniki, GreeceQLAB Private Company, Research & Development, Quality Control and Testing Services, 57008 Thessaloniki, GreeceQLAB Private Company, Research & Development, Quality Control and Testing Services, 57008 Thessaloniki, GreeceQLAB Private Company, Research & Development, Quality Control and Testing Services, 57008 Thessaloniki, GreeceMoving bed biofilm reactor combined with membrane bioreactor (MBBR-MBR) constitute a highly effective wastewater treatment technology. The aim of this research work was to study the effect of commercial K1 biocarriers (MBBR-MBR K1 unit) and 3D-printed biocarriers fabricated from 13X and Halloysite (MBBR-MBR 13X-H unit), on the efficiency and the fouling rate of an MBBR-MBR unit during wastewater treatment. Various physicochemical parameters and trans-membrane pressure were measured. It was observed that in the MBBR-MBR K1 unit, membrane filtration improved reaching total membrane fouling at 43d, while in the MBBR-MBR 13X-H and in the control MBBR-MBR total fouling took place at about 32d. This is attributed to the large production of soluble microbial products (SMP) in the MBBR-MBR 13X-H, which resulted from a large amount of biofilm created in the 13X-H biocarriers. An optimal biodegradation of the organic load was concluded, and nitrification and denitrification processes were improved at the MBBR-MBR K1 and MBBR-MBR 13X-H units. The dry mass produced on the 13X-H biocarriers ranged at 4980–5711 mg, three orders of magnitude larger than that produced on the K1, which ranged at 2.9–4.6 mg. Finally, it was observed that mostly extracellular polymeric substances were produced in the biofilm of K1 biocarriers while in 13X-H mostly SMP.https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0375/13/8/690MBBR-MBRbiofilm3D-printed biocarriersKaldnes K1 biocarriers13X-halloysite biocarriersmembrane fouling |
| spellingShingle | Dimitra C. Banti Petros Samaras Eleni Kostopoulou Vassiliki Tsioni Themistoklis Sfetsas Improvement of MBBR-MBR Performance by the Addition of Commercial and 3D-Printed Biocarriers Membranes MBBR-MBR biofilm 3D-printed biocarriers Kaldnes K1 biocarriers 13X-halloysite biocarriers membrane fouling |
| title | Improvement of MBBR-MBR Performance by the Addition of Commercial and 3D-Printed Biocarriers |
| title_full | Improvement of MBBR-MBR Performance by the Addition of Commercial and 3D-Printed Biocarriers |
| title_fullStr | Improvement of MBBR-MBR Performance by the Addition of Commercial and 3D-Printed Biocarriers |
| title_full_unstemmed | Improvement of MBBR-MBR Performance by the Addition of Commercial and 3D-Printed Biocarriers |
| title_short | Improvement of MBBR-MBR Performance by the Addition of Commercial and 3D-Printed Biocarriers |
| title_sort | improvement of mbbr mbr performance by the addition of commercial and 3d printed biocarriers |
| topic | MBBR-MBR biofilm 3D-printed biocarriers Kaldnes K1 biocarriers 13X-halloysite biocarriers membrane fouling |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0375/13/8/690 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT dimitracbanti improvementofmbbrmbrperformancebytheadditionofcommercialand3dprintedbiocarriers AT petrossamaras improvementofmbbrmbrperformancebytheadditionofcommercialand3dprintedbiocarriers AT elenikostopoulou improvementofmbbrmbrperformancebytheadditionofcommercialand3dprintedbiocarriers AT vassilikitsioni improvementofmbbrmbrperformancebytheadditionofcommercialand3dprintedbiocarriers AT themistoklissfetsas improvementofmbbrmbrperformancebytheadditionofcommercialand3dprintedbiocarriers |