Biological COD reduction and inorganic suspended solids accumulation in a pilot-scale membrane bioreactor for traditional Chinese medicine wastewater treatment

A pilot-scale test was conducted in a membrane bioreactor (MBR) for 452 days to treat high-strength traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) wastewater from two-phase anaerobic digest effluent. This study focuses on the chemical oxygen demand (COD) reduction and inorganic suspended solid (ISS) accumulation. The wastewater was high in COD, varying daily between 259 and 12,776 mg L⁻¹. Almost all the COD was removed by the MBR system, leaving a COD of <50 mg L⁻¹ in the MBR effluent. This indicated a great potential of the MBR in TCM wastewater reuse. ISS produced in the bioreactor by metabolism of microorganism increased from 265 to 4912 g h⁻¹, which showed that there were large numbers of ISS accumulation in the bioreactor. Two models, built on the material balances of COD and ISS, were developed for the simulation of MBR system performance in the biodegradation of TCM wastewater. Consequently, the kinetic constants including the maximum substrate specific biodegradation rate (V_max), the half-saturation coefficient (K_s) and the inorganic suspended solids growth rate (k) were calculated as V_max, 3.64, 3.82, 4.39 d⁻¹, K_s, 56.4, 225, 394 mg L⁻¹ and k, 265, 888, 4912 mg L⁻¹ d⁻¹ using the operational data at different hydraulic retention times (HRTs). The models well fitted the pilot-scale experimental data, and were able to simulate the COD reduction and ISS accumulation.