Grant: Alliance Grants

There is a growing interest in enhancing the sustainability of wastewater treatment by producing high quality effluents with reduced energy consumption. The membrane aerated biofilm reactor (MABR) has considerable potential in this regard due to its promise of high oxygen transfer efficiencies (OTEs) with low energy input. There has however been limited evaluation of the impacts of transient conditions on the performance of MABRs at full scale. The proposed study will study transient operations of two full scale MABR facilities that are currently operating at the Hespeler and Elmira Ontario wastewater treatment plants. Short and long term temporal transients will be evaluated at both facilities while longitudinal transients will be evaluated at the Hespeler facility. The impact of dynamic stormwater loadings on MABR performance will be assessed at the Elmira facility. Key responses that will be characterized will include nutrient removal, oxygen consumption, greenhouse gas generations, energy demand and microbial community composition and functionality. The results of this study will be of broad interest to the wastewater community (regulators, wastewater treatment plant owners and operators, consulting engineers, technology providers) as there is a significant demand for technologies that can be employed to upgrade treatment in a sustainable manner.