Carbon footprint reduction by coupling intermittent aeration with submerged MBR: a pilot plant study

To find a possible trade-off between effluent quality, sludge production, energy consumption and GHG emissions, this study monitored the carbon and nutrient removal and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in a membrane bioreactor (MBR) pilot plant with intermittent aeration (IA). The pilot plant was operated by alternating aerobic and anoxic conditions inside the biological reactor. Up to 98.2% of carbon and 76.4% of nitrogen were respectively remove through this MBR pilot plant with IA. The carbon footprint was equal to 2.4 kgCO2eq m-3. Indirect emissions contributed the most to the carbon footprint (55.3%), mainly due to energy consumption, despite the alterations in aeration during the pilot plant operation. The result of this study will provide theoretical guidance for building the wastewater treatment plant in a sustainable way.