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Full-Scale Implementation of a Vertical Membrane Bioreactor for Simultaneous Removal of Organic Matter and Nutrients from Municipal Wastewater

In nutrient-sensitive estuaries, wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) are required to implement more advanced treatment methods in order to meet increasingly stringent effluent guidelines for organic matter and nutrients. To comply with current and anticipated water quality regulations and to reduce the volume of produced sludge, we have successfully developed a vertical membrane bioreactor (VMBR) that is composed of anoxic (lower layer) and oxic (upper layer) zones in one reactor. Since 2009, the VMBR has been commercialized (Q = 1100–16,000 m3/d) under the trade-name of DMBRTM for recycling of municipal wastewater in South Korea. In this study, we explore the performance and stability of the full-scale systems. As a result, it was found that the DMBRTM systems showed excellent removal efficiencies of organic substances, suspended solids (SS) and Escherichia coli (E. coli). Moreover, average removal efficiencies of total nitrogen (TN) and total phosphorus (TP) by the DMBRTM systems were found to be 79% and 90% at 18 °C, 8.3 h HRT and 41 d SRT. Moreover, transmembrane pressure (TMP) was maintained below 40 kPa at a flux of 18 L/m2/h (LMH) more than 300 days. Average specific energy consumption of the full-scale DMBRTM systems was found to be 0.94 kWh/m3.