Chapter 9. MBR modeling studies

Membrane bioreactor (MBR) technology has been increasingly employed for municipal and industrial wastewater treatments. Many efforts have been invested in MBR modeling, focussing on the biological processes as well as on the engineering aspects (filtration, membrane fouling and tank hydrodynamic). In this chapter, the developments and the current state-of-the-art in biological modeling of MBR is presented. This review explores both single mechanisms (e.g., biological, filtration and hydrodynamic models) and multiple mechanisms (hybrid models). The specific features and advantages of each model are presented and discussed. Unmodified and modified applications of Activated Sludge Models (ASMs) applied to model biological processes in MBR are presented, taking into account influent characterizations, biokinetics, and soluble microbial products (SMPs) / extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) modeling. Models which describe filtration and fouling phenomena as well as model which investigate hydrodynamic conditions in MBRs are presented. Finally a brief overview on control and operational strategies of MBRs is given.