Treatment of Oily Wastewater with Membrane Bioreactor Systems

• Main Authors: Marco Capodici, Alida Cosenza, Daniele Di Trapani, Giorgio Mannina, Michele Torregrossa, Gaspare Viviani
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2017-06-01
• Series: Water
• Subjects: oily wastewater; total petroleum hydrocarbon; membrane fouling
• Online Access: http://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/9/6/412

The aim of the present work was to investigate the behavior of a membrane bioreactor (MBR) system for the treatment of oily wastewater. A bench scale MBR was fed with synthetic wastewater containing diesel fuel. Organic carbon, hydrocarbon and ammonium removal, kinetic constants, extracellular polymeric substances production, and membrane fouling rates were monitored. The MBR plant was operated for more than 200 days, and the results highlighted good carbon removal and nitrification, suggesting a sort of biomass adaptation to hydrocarbons. Membrane fouling analysis showed an increase in total resistance, likely due to hydrocarbons, which caused an irreversible fouling (pore blocking) mainly due to oil deposition.