Wastewater treatment systems and methods
AssigneesArizona Board of Regents on behalf of Arizona State University, The Regents of the University of Michigan
InventorsJoshua Boltz, Bruce Rittmann, Glen Daigger
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A biofilm membrane bioreactor system with a bioreactor, at least two membrane plates positioned within the bioreactor, and a plurality of biofilm carriers suspended within the wastewater in the bioreactor. The bioreactor has at least one inlet and at least one outlet. The at least two membrane plates are configured to filter the wastewater to generate permeate and may be formed of a ceramic material. Each of the at least two membrane plates are separated from adjacent membrane plates by a membrane gap that is at least two times larger than a smallest dimension of one of the biofilm carriers.
Claims15
A biofilm membrane bioreactor system comprising:
- a bioreactor having at least one inlet and at least one outlet;
- at least two membrane plates positioned within the bioreactor and configured to filter wastewater to generate permeate, wherein each of the at least two membrane plates is separated from adjacent membrane plates of the at least two membrane plates by a membrane gap;
- a plurality of biofilm carriers suspended within the bioreactor surrounding the at least two membrane plates, wherein a width of the membrane gap is at least two times larger than a smallest dimension of a biofilm carrier of the plurality of biofilm carriers;
- and
- a hollow-fiber membrane contactor having a gas-permeable membrane, wherein the hollow-fiber membrane contactor is configured to remove at least one dissolved gas from the permeate into an extraction solution.
A method of treating wastewater comprising:
- providing wastewater to a bioreactor via an influent wastewater stream, wherein the bioreactor comprises at least two membrane plates positioned within the bioreactor and wherein each of the at least two membrane plates is separated from adjacent membrane plates of the at least two membrane plates by a membrane gap;
- suspending a plurality of biofilm carriers in the wastewater surrounding the at least two membrane plates, wherein each of the biofilm carriers comprises biofilm capable of biologically removing contaminants from the wastewater and wherein a width of the membrane gap is at least two times larger than a smallest dimension of a biofilm carrier of the plurality of biofilm carriers;
- passing contents of the bioreactor through the at least two membrane plates to generate permeate comprising one or more dissolved gases;
- and
- passing the permeate through a hollow-fiber membrane contactor, whereby the gas, or gases, are removed into an extraction solution.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.