AWWA WQTC52925

The membrane-bioreactor (MBR) process has only recently been appliedfor water treatment. In this process, a biological culture and an absorbent such as activated carbon, are used for removing dissolved species, and a microfiltration or ultrafiltration membrane is utilized to completely retain suspended solids, including biomass, within the system. The MBR process has been successfully applied for secondary wastewater treatment, removing aromatic hydrocarbons from water, treating landfill leachate, and drinking water denitrification. Using ozone as a preoxidant has been shown to be an effective strategy for controllingdisinfection byproducts. Several studies have shown that ozone preoxidation followed by biological filtration is an effective strategy for controlling trihalomethane and haloacetic acid formation in addition to producing biologically stable water. The objective of this study was to optimize the MBR process for removing biodegradable organic matter including ozonation byproducts and trihalomethane precursors from a preozonated source water while minimizing biological and particulate membrane fouling. Includes 11 references, table, figures.