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Use of Membrane Bioreactor for Biodegradation of MTBE in Contaminated Water |
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| Authors: | John R. Morrison Makram T. Suidan Albert D. Venosa |
| Affiliation: | 1Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Univ. of Cincinnati, 701 Engineering Research Center, Cincinnati, Ohio 45221-0071. 2Professor, Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Univ. of Cincinnati, 701 Engineering Research Center, Cincinnati, Ohio 45221-0071 (corresponding author). 3Program Manager, Oil Spill Research Program, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, National Risk Management Research Laboratory, 26 West Martin Luther King Dr., Cincinnati, OH 45268. |
| Abstract: | An ultrafiltation membrane bioreactor was evaluated for biodegradation of methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE) in contaminated water. The system was fed 5 mg/L MTBE in granular activated carbon (GAC) treated Cincinnati tap water containing ample buffer and nutrients. Within 120 days the culture had adapted to membrane operational conditions and was consistently achieving greater than 99.95% biological removal of both MTBE and tert-butyl alcohol. This condition was steadily maintained for the next 200 days of study. Effluent dissolved organic carbon values remained at or below concentrations of the feed GAC treated tap water alone. An increase in biomass concentration as measured by volatile suspended solids was observed to correlate with an increase in MTBE removal efficiency. Some operational observations, including fouling, recovery from an accident, and overall performance, are described. |
| Keywords: | Biodegradation Aerobic processes Biological treatment Biomass Ohio Water treatment |