An integrated rotating biological contactor and membrane separation process for domestic wastewater treatment

Membrane fouling is a major bottleneck of almost all pressure-driven membrane filtration processes that limits their widespread applications. Improvement of hydrodynamics conditions is one of the most effective methods for membrane fouling control. This paper assesses a rotating biological contactor (RBC) integrated with membrane (RBC-MI) filtration that potentially offers inherent membrane fouling control as well as enhances biological performance, in which the membrane is placed inside the RBC bioreactor. Results show that the RBC-MI system achieves 84 of COD, 96.7 ammonium, 74 total nitrogen, 89 total phosphorus, and 96 turbidity removals. The integration of membrane placed inside the bioreactor doubles the permeability as compared to the external placement. Higher hydraulic performance is achieved at the low membrane-to-disk gap and higher disk rotational speed. The energy analysis shows that the RBC-MI consumes only 0.18 kWhm�3 signifying its viability as promission option to the energy-intensive conventional treatment systems. © 2020 Faculty of Engineering, Alexandria University