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Screenshot from the LynxASM1 CAE software package

Designing and managing wastewater treatment plants using CAE software − the LynxASM1 modelling and simulation tool

Ever more versatile and sophisticated options for designing and managing plants are being developed. And as the new CAE tools become more accessible and widespread, suppliers continue to develop and refine the tools, so the reliability of their predictions increases – promoting further take-up.

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Process biology | Feasibility, optimisation and costs | Pre-treatment and post-treatment | Water quality and treatability

Figure 6: Overall mean OPEX contribution to MBR plants

Cost comparison of full-scale water reclamation technologies with an emphasis on membrane bioreactors

The authors consider cost information from installations across Spain, and compare this with corresponding information for the more conventional activated sludge (CAS) technologies. The CAPEX and OPEX − capital and operating expenditure − information was used to generate cost curves as a function of flow capacity or population equivalent (p.e.) for both technology types.

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Feasibility, optimisation and costs

Fig. 1: Zeta potential distribution of membrane samples as a function of pH

The impact of biofouling on surface membrane properties in MBRs

MBR membranes are prone to fouling generally, and biofouling in particular, by organic matter originating from the microbial cells. These biofoulants vary in concentration with the activated sludge characteristics, such as the mixed liquor suspended solids (MLSS) concentration and solids retention time (SRT) (and so the food/microorganism (F/M) ratio), as well as the feedwater chemistry.

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Membrane operation | Process biology

Fig. 5 Sensitivity analysis of the final score: (final score of the CAS plant) – (final score of the MBR plant) = FCAS – FMBR as a function of s (weight of Social aspects) and c (weight of Economic aspects) (Bertanza et al, 2017)

A comparative techno-economic-environmental assessment of full-scale CAS vs MBR technologies

Although a number of studies have compared the MBR system performance with that of the conventional or classical activated sludge (CAS) process in treating municipal wastewater, none have attempted a simultaneous comparison of their environmental, techno-economic and social acceptance aspects.

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Feasibility, optimisation and costs | Alternative membrane technologies and applications

Long-term monitoring of its constitution in the full-scale MBR

Reducing process aeration energy consumption in MBRs

MBRs use more energy compared with classical activated sludge (CAS) because the aeration requirements are greater. Aeration is needed both for the biological and membrane tanks for degrading the organics and scouring the membrane respectively. Typically, aeration energy consumption accounts for 70–80% of total energy used for the municipal wastewater treatment process, with 40–60% consumed by the process biology.

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Membrane operation | Process biology | Feasibility, optimisation and costs

NF testing set-up

Reuse of dairy wastewater treated by membrane bioreactor and nanofiltration: technical and economic feasibility

A study carried out by Andrade and co-authors assessed the viability of a two-stage membrane bioreactor−nanofiltration scheme (MBR−NF) for treating dairy wastewater. Of key concern was the quality of the treated water with respect to its potential reuse and the overall cost of the scheme.

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Feasibility, optimisation and costs | Pre-treatment and post-treatment | Water quality and treatability