Detoxification of industrial wastewaters in an Extractive Membrane Bioreactor Available to Purchase

Point source treatment of aqueous wastes produced in the chemical industry and containing toxic organic compounds in an Extractive Membrane Bioreactor (EMB) is reported. The EMB is shown to be effective in removing a range of toxic organic compounds, achieving over 99% removal at wastewater-reactor contact times of less than 30 minutes. A model which predicts the removal efficiency is discussed, and a new, advanced EMB system is described which overcomes the mass transfer limitations in the original plug flow configuration. Finally, data showing the effect of the membrane attached biofilms on membrane mass transfer is used to illustrate one of the key problems that must be solved during technology transfer if the EMB process is to prove successful at industrial scale.