Advancing the Use of Integrated Membrane Bioreactor-Reverse Osmosis Technology to Reclaim Wastewater Thru Pilot Testing

This paper reviews recent pilot projects conducted in the United States and Singapore where reverse osmosis is being used in conjunction with membrane bioreactor (MBR) technology to treat municipal wastewater for potential indirect potable reuse. MBR technology is capable of producing low TSS effluent suitable for reverse osmosis treatment. Specially-designed, low-fouling, energy-saving reverse osmosis membranes remove dissolved salts and organics from the MBR effluent as well as act as a secondary filter to remove viruses and bacteria. This paper reviews recent pilot projects conducted in Singapore where reverse osmosis is being used in conjunction with membrane bioreactor (MBR) technology to treat municipal wastewater for industrial processes and indirect potable reuse. MBR technology is capable of producing low TSS effluent suitable for reverse osmosis treatment. Specially-designed, low-fouling, energy-saving reverse osmosis membranes remove dissolved salts and organics from the MBR effluent as well as act as a secondary filter to remove viruses and bacteria. MBR-RO pilot testing conducted by Hydranautics and MRE, under the joint venture, Kathyd, in cooperation with Singapore PUB, provided strong evidence in support of the applicability of integrated membrane solutions for wastewater reuse. Hydranautics’ ESPA2?- RO membranes in the MBR-RO system demonstrated stable performance at a flux of 20.8 LMH without the need for a CIP for over 5 months of continuous operation. The RO permeate quality was well below the Singapore PUB NEWater requirements, demonstrating that the combination of MBR-RO is capable of producing high-quality water that meets the requirements for reuse.

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