Degradation of Aniline-contained Wastewater with Swing-type MBR

In this study, aniline-containing wastewater was treated using the microbial flora present in activated sludge and a membrane separation system reactor. A swing-type membrane bioreactor (S-MBR) system with swinging membrane components was designed to control membrane fouling during reactor operation. Furthermore, the new system was tested and compared with the aerated membrane bioreactor (A-MBR) and the common membrane bioreactor (C-MBR). The study revealed the following findings: 1) S-MBR exhibited a high aniline removal rate, with an efficiency of 97% in removing aniline from wastewater with a concentration of 600 mg/L. 2) S-MBR demonstrated a high membrane flux, reaching a maximum of 97 L/m² h bar, whereas C-MBR and A-MBR achieved 49 L/m² h bar and 87 L/m² h bar, respectively. 3) S-MBR proved to be energy-efficient, with lower energy consumption during aniline removal (0.032 kW/kg C₆H₇N) compared to C-MBR (0.051 kW/kg C₆H₇N) and A-MBR (0.039 kW/kg C₆H₇N). These observations suggest that the S-MBR system designed in this study is comparatively more effective, feasible, and economical.