Rong Chao, Yan Weifu, Song Ying, Wang Chunxiao, Yuan Zhiguo, Li Yu-You, Zhang Tong
Environmental Microbiome Engineering and Biotechnology Laboratory, Department of Civil Engineering, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam Road, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China; School of Energy and Environment, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China.
Environmental Microbiome Engineering and Biotechnology Laboratory, Department of Civil Engineering, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam Road, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China.
Water Res. 2025 Jul 30;287(Pt A):124321. doi: 10.1016/j.watres.2025.124321.
Anaerobic membrane bioreactors (AnMBRs) present a promising solution for developing energy-neutral wastewater treatment systems. However, their application in mainstream settings, where they treat sewage directly, faces challenges such as dissolved methane loss and performance deterioration at low temperatures. To address these issues, this study developed a side-stream mode AnMBR system by integrating chemically enhanced primary treatment (CEPT) with AnMBR. In this system, sewage is first concentrated in a CEPT unit, and the concentrates are then digested in an AnMBR. A laboratory-scale mesophilic AnMBR, fed with CEPT sludge from a full-scale plant, was operated to demonstrate the design and verify its performance. The results showed that the CEPT-AnMBR system removed approximately 65.7 % of the COD from sewage, converted roughly 51.4 % into methane, with a methane yield of 0.26 L-CH/g-COD. By altering the waste flow from low-strength, high-volume sewage to high-strength, low-volume sludge, the side-stream AnMBR system reduced dissolved methane to <1 % of the generated methane, minimized membrane requirement to approximately 0.56 m/m-sewage/day, and achieved energy positivity at 0.61 kWh/m-sewage. These findings demonstrate a successful "capture + digestion" strategy for energy-saving sewage treatment, advancing the application of AnMBR technology in regions with low-temperatures.
厌氧膜生物反应器（AnMBRs）为开发能源中性污水处理系统提供了一种很有前景的解决方案。然而，它们在直接处理污水的主流环境中的应用面临着诸如溶解甲烷损失和低温下性能恶化等挑战。为了解决这些问题，本研究通过将化学强化一级处理（CEPT）与AnMBR相结合，开发了一种侧流模式的AnMBR系统。在该系统中，污水首先在CEPT单元中浓缩，然后浓缩液在AnMBR中进行消化。运行了一个实验室规模的中温AnMBR，其进料为来自一座全尺寸工厂的CEPT污泥，以展示该设计并验证其性能。结果表明，CEPT-AnMBR系统去除了污水中约65.7%的化学需氧量（COD），将大约51.4%转化为甲烷，甲烷产率为0.26 L-CH₄/g-COD。通过将废水流从低强度、高流量的污水转变为高强度、低流量的污泥，侧流AnMBR系统将溶解甲烷减少至产生甲烷的1%以下，将膜需求量最小化至约0.56 m²/m³污水/天，并实现了0.61 kWh/m³污水的能源正向产出。这些发现证明了一种成功的节能污水处理“捕获+消化”策略，推动了AnMBR技术在低温地区的应用。
