Simulation of a Membrane Bioreactor System for Wastewater Organic Removal: Biological Treatment and Cake Layer-Membrane Filtration

This study was focused on providing an integrated model that could be used as an effective prediction tool for nutrient removal performance of membrane bioreactor (MBR) with emphasis on the interception of organic matter during cake layer-membrane filtration. The developed model was divided into two submodels for biological process and cake layer-membrane filtration process, respectively. With respect to the biological process, it was based on the platform of activated sludge model 3 (ASM3) with two main improvements: (i) adopting the concept of simultaneous growth and storage of organic substrates; (ii) introducing the formation and degradation of soluble microbial products. The removal of organic substances during cake layer-membrane filtration was simulated on the basis of mass balance, force balance, and first-order transport principle. The integrated model could offer a technique for the characterization of MBR operation and provide a valuable tool for operation improvement.