Enhanced Pollutant Removal and Antifouling in an Aerobic Ceramic Membrane Bioreactor with Bentonite for Pharmaceutical Wastewater Treatment.

This study examined the impact of adding bentonite clay (concentration of 1.5 to 10 g/L) to a pilot-scale aerobic ceramic membrane bioreactor (AeCMBR) for treating pharmaceutical wastewater (PhWW). The hydraulic retention time (HRT) was maintained at 24 h; the dissolved oxygen was between 2 mg/L (on) and 4 mg/L (off) throughout operation.

Evaluating water quality and fouling propensity in a pilot-scale ceramic membrane bioreactor treating municipal wastewater subjected to increasing salinity levels.

This study aims to optimize the removal of carbon and nitrogen pollutants from saline municipal wastewater using both membrane-based and biological treatment methods. It examines a pilot-scale sequential aerobic ceramic membrane bioreactor (AeCMBR) under various salinity levels (0-20 g NaCl/L) to assess biological processes and fouling behavior. While high COD removal rates of (≈90%) were consistently achieved, ammoniacal nitrogen removal dropped from 82 to 55% at 15 g NaCl/L, despite increased oxygenation flow rates.