Anaerobic membrane bioreactor performance at different wastewater pre-concentration factors: An experimental and economic study

This research evaluated the performance of a lab-scale anaerobic membrane bioreactor (AnMBR) treating municipal sewage pre-concentrated by forward osmosis (FO). The organic loading rate (OLR) and sodium concentrations of the synthetic sewage stepwise increased from 0.3 to 2.0 g COD L−1 d−1 and from 0.28 to 2.30 g Na+ L−1 to simulate pre-concentration factors of 1, 2, 5 and 10. No major operational problems were observed during AnMBR operation, with COD removal efficiencies ranging between 90 and 96%. The methane yield progressively increased from 214 ± 79 to 322 ± 60 mL CH4 g−1 COD as the pre-concentration factor increased from 1 to 10. This was mainly attributed to the lower fraction of methane dissolved lost in the permeate at higher OLRs. Interestingly, at the highest pre-concentration factor (2.30 g Na+ L−1) the difference between the permeate and the digester soluble COD indicated that membrane biofilm also played a role in COD removal. Finally, a preliminary energy and economic analysis showed that, at a pre-concentration factor of 10, the AnMBR temperature could be increased 10 °C and achieve a positive net present value (NPV) of 4 M€ for a newly constructed AnMBR treating 10,000 m3 d−1 of pre-concentrated sewage with an AnMBR lifetime of 20 years. [Display omitted] •AnMBR performance was analysed at 1, 2, 5 and 10 sewage pre-concentration factors.•The AnMBR was satisfactorily operated with an average COD removal of 94 ± 5%.•CH4 yields increased from 214 to 322 mLCH4 g−1 COD with the pre-concentration factor.•Membrane biofilm contributed to COD removal, especially at the highest salinity.•A positive net present value could be achieved at a pre-concentration factor of 10.