Development of an Electrochemical Ceramic Membrane Bioreactor for the Removal of PPCPs from Wastewater

The removal of pharmaceutical and personal care products (PPCPs) from water and wastewater is of great significance for eco-system safety. In this study, an electrochemical ceramic membrane bioreactor (ECMBR) was developed for removing seven groups (24 kinds in total) of PPCPs from real wastewater. In the presence of an electric field (2 V/cm), the ECMBR could enhance the removal efficiencies for most targeted PPCPs without having adverse impacts on conventional pollutant removal and membrane filtration. The ECMBR achieved higher removal efficiencies for fluoroquinolones (82.8%), beta-blockers (24.6%), and sulfonamides (41.0%) compared to the control (CMBR) (52.9%, 4.6%, and 36.4%). For trimethoprim, ECMBR also significantly increased the removal to 66.5% compared to 15.6% in CMBR. Furthermore, the exertion of an electric field did not cause significant changes in microbial communities, suggesting that the enhanced removal of PPCPs should be attributed to the electrochemical oxidation of the built-in electrodes in the ECMBR.