Electrically enhanced membrane bioreactor (electro-membrane bioreactor or eMBR) is a promising alternative to conventional MBR for wastewater remediation. It offers numerous advantages that include higher effluent quality and enhanced fouling control. The application of this technology on the treatment of emerging contaminants (i.e. pharmaceuticals) is the focus of this study. Diclofenac (DCF), carbamazepine (CBZ) and amoxicillin (AMX) were selected as representative drugs of frequently detected pharmaceuticals in the aquatic environment that cause adverse health effects at relatively low concentrations. A laboratory scale eMBR, composed of cylindrical perforated aluminum anode and stainless steel cathode immersed around a membrane module, was used in this study. Synthetically prepared municipal wastewater was spiked with 10 µg/L of each compound and the impact of intermittent (5 min ON/ 20 min OFF) application of electric field, at increasing current densities (0, 0.5 and 1.15 mA/cm<sup>2</sup>), on the pharmaceutical removal was investigated. Results showed that the maximum treatment efficiencies for DCF (79.04 %), CBZ (77.21 %) and AMX (76.47 %) were obtained using current density of 1.15 mA/cm<sup>2</sup>. Clearly, this study proves that the application of electric field with membrane technology induced electrochemical processes (e.g. electrocoagulation, electroosmosis and electrophoresis) which increased the removal of recalcitrant pharmaceuticals from contaminated water.

Application of electro-membrane bioreactor (eMBR) for the removal of pharmaceuticals from wastewater

255th National Meeting (2018)

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