Studies on wastewater treatments have improved the quality of effluents, minimizing risks to health and the environment. Among significant innovations, membrane bioreactors (MBRs) represents a reliable and efficient technology, which has become an alternative to traditional activated sludge processes.
However, membrane investment costs and membrane fouling, with its consequences for plant maintenance and energy consumption, limit the wide application of MBRs. For this reason, studies are still underway to control fouling and minimize costs.
Recent investigations have shown that the application of electrochemical processes to MBRs (eMBRs) represents a promising technology for fouling control.
In recent years, the scientific community has also focused its attention on the use of low-cost self-forming dynamic membranes (SFDM), whose distinction from traditional membranes is the high pore size (10-200 μm). Using these membranes leads to a significant cost reduction. However, the large pore size limits their application since effluents obtained at the start of the process are not of high quality.
In the present study, the performance of SFDM was investigated, integrating it in a conventional MBR and in an eMBR operating at different current densities. Both pollutant removal efficiencies and fouling control have been assessed as a function of the applied current density. This extremely innovative hybrid system is able to reach high effluent quality, allowing its reuse, reducing fouling significantly, and, at the same time, decreasing the high costs of traditional membranes.