Comparison of a submerged membranes bioreactor with a conventional activated sludge system for wastewater treatment

Wastewater treatment has increased in recent decades. The objective of this study was to compare two systems for wastewater treatment. The first system was the submerged membrane bioreactor (SMBR) and the second was the conventional system of activated sludge (RLA). The parameters evaluated were total chemical oxygen demand (CODtotal), soluble chemical oxygen demand (CODsoluble), phosphates (PO43-), nitrates (NH4+), nitrites (NO3-), total suspended solids (TSS), volatile suspended solids (VSS) and pH, and were determined in samples obtained from the feeding and the effluent of the systems three times a week. The wastewater used in the two reactors was prepared daily to avoid degradation in the storage tank. The results, like the CODTotal, show that there is an improvement using the SMBR with respect to the RLA. Besides, the filtration carried out allowed a greater removal of TSS and the nitrification process in the SMBR converted NH4+ in NO3-. It is concluded that the effluent of the SMBR is of better quality because it had less contaminants and it can be used for wastewater treatment.