MBR-TRAIN — Final Report Summary
Source: CORDIS EU Research Results
MBR-TRAIN provided Early Stage Research Training on process optimisation and fouling control in membrane bioreactors for water treatment, training 21 fellows in total across 10 partner institutions.
Key scientific achievements included: systematic analysis of full-scale plants using the Delft filtration characterisation method, demonstrating good statistical correlation between measured filterability and hollow fibre module permeability; development of a new fouling indicator based on transparent exopolymeric particles (TEP); application of metaproteomics for functional characterisation of MBR biomass; comparative studies on micropollutant removal; and numerical modelling of hydrodynamics and degradation performance.
Practical implementations included suggestions for more efficient aeration and chemical dosage in full-scale plants, and investigation of anaerobic MBR concepts for treating low-loaded wastewater, with both suspended and granular anaerobic MBRs achieving COD removal of approximately 84–86%.