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Fate and behavior of dissolved organic matter in a submerged anoxic-aerobic membrane bioreactor (MBR)

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Abstract

In this study, the production, composition, and characteristics of dissolved organic matter (DOM) in an anoxic-aerobic submerged membrane bioreactor (MBR) were investigated. The average concentrations of proteins and carbohydrates in the MBR aerobic stage were 3.96 ± 0.28 and 8.36 ± 0.89 mg/L, respectively. After membrane filtration, these values decreased to 2.9 ± 0.2 and 2.8 ± 0.2 mg/L, respectively. High performance size exclusion chromatograph (HP-SEC) analysis indicated a bimodal molecular weight (MW) distribution of DOMs, and that the intensities of all the peaks were reduced in the MBR effluent compared to the influent. Three-dimensional fluorescence excitation emission matrix (FEEM) indicated that fulvic and humic acid-like substances were the predominant DOMs in biological treatment processes. Precise identification and characterization of low-MW DOMs was carried out using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The GC-MS analysis indicated that the highest peak numbers (170) were found in the anoxic stage, and 54 (32%) compounds were identified with a similarity greater than 80%. Alkanes (28), esters (11), and aromatics (7) were the main compounds detected. DOMs exhibited both biodegradable and recalcitrant characteristics. There were noticeable differences in the low-MW DOMs present down the treatment process train in terms of numbers, concentrations, molecular weight, biodegradability, and recalcitrance.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Advanced Environmental Biotechnology Centre, Nanyang Environment and Water Research Institute, 1 Cleantech Loop, #06-10, Singapore, 637141, Singapore

    Dongqing Zhang & Soon Keat Tan

  2. School of Civil Engineering and Surveying, Faculty of Health, Engineering and Sciences, University of Southern Queensland, Toowoomba, 4350, Australia

    Antoine Prandota Trzcinski

  3. Research Center for Eco-Environmental Science, Chinese Academy of Science, Beijing, 100085, China

    Jinxue Luo

  4. Department of Chemical Engineering, Imperial College London, London, SW7 2AZ, UK

    David C. Stuckey

  5. School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, N1-01a-29, 50 Nanyang Avenue, Singapore, 639798, Singapore

    Soon Keat Tan

Authors
  1. Dongqing Zhang
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  2. Antoine Prandota Trzcinski
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  3. Jinxue Luo
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  4. David C. Stuckey
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  5. Soon Keat Tan
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Correspondence to Dongqing Zhang.

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Responsible editor: Philippe Garrigues

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Zhang, D., Trzcinski, A.P., Luo, J. et al. Fate and behavior of dissolved organic matter in a submerged anoxic-aerobic membrane bioreactor (MBR). Environ Sci Pollut Res 25, 4289–4302 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-017-0586-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-017-0586-x

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