High salinity wastewater treatment by membrane bioreactors

Abstract

This chapter reviews the state of the art regarding the use of membrane bioreactor (MBR) systems for saline wastewater treatment. In particular, a comprehensive review is presented discussing the most adopted MBR configurations for the treatment of saline wastewater. Further, the chapter discusses the main effects of salinity on the biological performance, kinetic parameters, fouling development, sludge rheological features, and greenhouse gas (GHG) production. Literature results show that there is a significant effect of the salinity (and/or salinity variations) on the biological performance and membrane filtration. Specifically, it was found that a gradual salinity increase, carried out at moderate steps, might be a good strategy for limiting the negative effects of saline wastewater by enhancing the acclimation of the bacterial consortium to the saline environment.