Can I expect better quality effluent with MBR technology?
Yes. In general, MBR systems can provide higher quality effluent than settled activated sludge followed by membrane filtration. By removing the operational constraint of sludge settleability, the activated sludge process can be operated at very high MLSS concentrations. This allows for higher solids retention time and leads to more complete biological oxidation. MBR effluent looks, smells, and simply is better than conventional secondary effluent. New data suggests that the very high mean cell residence time of the MBR process results in higher removals of difficult-to-treat compounds such as endocrine disrupters and biopersistent pharmaceuticals.
