EUROMBRA development of anaerobic membrane bioreactor

2006 - 2010

This project describes the development of an anaerobic membrane bioreactor for on-site sanitation. The specific application is an anaerobic baffled reactor (ABR) with a membrane filtration post-treatment step. WRC Project K5/1661 was the culmination of a number of technological steps investigating ABR technology, beginning with the treatment of soluble industrial effluents and expanded to on-site waterborne sanitation. As a sanitation technology, the results from WRC Project K5/1248 showed that the ABR was able to achieve superior performance relative to its nearest competitor, the septic tank. The main drawback of the technology, however, is that the effluent requires further treatment before any discharge or re-use strategy can be realised. Of the many post-treatment options available, membrane technology is advantageous as it can produce a consistent and superior quality effluent. The aim of this project was therefore to investigate the feasibility of membrane filtration as an ABR effluent polishing step. WRC Project K5/1661 was co-funded by the EUROMBRA Project, an international project concerned with providing solutions to membrane-related challenges.