Membrane aerated biofilm reactor performance for xenobiotic compound removal | |
| Author | Patthranit Kunlasubpreedee |
| Call Number | AIT Thesis no.EV-19-15 |
| Subject(s) | Xenobiotics Volatile organic compounds--Environmental aspects Membrane reactors |
| Note | A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Engineering in Environmental Engineering and Management |
| Publisher | Asian Institute of Technology |
| Abstract | In conventional aerobic biological treatment process, as oxygen is supplied either by mechanical or diffused aeration, which results in significant stripping loss of volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Through the bubble-less aeration mechanisms in Membrane Aerated Biofilm Reactor (MABR), VOCs contaminated in the wastewater is retained in the MABR reactor without stripping loss to the atmosphere. Apart from using hydrophobic dense membrane as the aerated diffusers, the MABR also acts as the media for biofilm growth. The aim of the study was to reduce Acetonitrile (ACN) stripping-loss during the aeration process and to investigate the variation of MABR performance under the different conditions of HRT and ACN surface loading rates. The MABR system was operated with initial concentration of ACN as 300 mg/L throughout the continuous phase of the experiment. The optimum supply pressure was adopted as 30 kPa of normal air in order to achieve Oxygen Transfer Rate (OTR) of 6.18 g O2/day. Meanwhile, the fraction of ACN stripping from the liquid phase to the gas phase was less than 1%. ACN biodegradation was studied at four HRT conditions viz., 4, 6, 9 and 12 hours. HRT at 6 hours was the optimum condition, with the removal efficiency of ACN, TOC, COD and TN at 98%, 87%, 84% and 69%, respectively. This MABR system was capable of ACN removing with the maximum surface loading rate and removal capacity of 3.75 and 3.63 g/m2.d, respectively. This study establishes the improved efficiency of MABR with the shorter HRT requirement over the conventional biological treatments for ACN biodegradation. ACN was converted into environmentally non-hazardous forms within the MABR system and generated negligible amount of air pollutant to the atmosphere. |
| Year | 2019 |
| Type | Thesis |
| School | School of Environment, Resources, and Development (SERD) |
| Department | Department of Energy and Climate Change (Former title: Department of Energy, Environment, and Climate Change (DEECC)) |
| Academic Program/FoS | Environmental Engineering and Management (EV) |
| Chairperson(s) | Visvanathan, C.; |
| Examination Committee(s) | Xue, Wenchao;Loc, Thai Nguyen; |
| Scholarship Donor(s) | Loom Nam Khong Pijai (Greater Mekong Subregion) Scholarship; |
| Degree | Thesis (M.Eng.) - Asian Institute of Technology, 2019 |