Simultaneous removal of organic matter and nitrogen compounds by combining a membrane bioreactor and a membrane biofilm reactor.

Hydrogen-based membrane biofilm reactors (MBfR) have been applied to the denitrification of nitrate-containing water and wastewater. Adding an aerobic membrane bioreactor (MBR) to a MBfR provides significant nitrification and organic oxidation because most wastewater also contains a significant concentration of organic material and ammonium nitrogen. This study describes experiments that investigate the removal of organic and nitrogenous compounds in the combined MBR/MBfR system. The experiments demonstrate that the MBR/MBfR combination successfully performs COD oxidation and nitrogen removal for organic and ammonium loads in the ranges of 1000-4300gCOD/m(3)-d and 200-230gN/m(3)-d, respectively. Total-nitrogen removal was controlled by nitrification in the MBR, because the MBfR denitrified all of the NO(3)(-) provided by the MBR. The nitrate flux in the MBfR was in the range of 4-8gN/m(2)-d for cases of almost complete denitrification (>99 %); the H(2) flux was varied from 1.4 to 2.8gH(2)/m(2)-d.