BNR Process Intensification using Membrane Aerated Biofilm Reactors

Biofilm processes have been integral to wastewater treatment for over 100 years. Historically, these have been co-diffusional biofilms by which we mean that the substrate and electron acceptor both diffuse into the biofilm from the outside i.e. the bulk liquid. The Membrane Aerated Biofilm Reactor (MABR) is a promising innovation to biofilm technologies that employs a counter-diffusional biofilm wherein the substrate still diffuses in from the bulk liquid, but the electron acceptor diffuses directly to the base or inside of the biofilm. To achieve this, pressurized air is delivered to the lumen of hollow-fiber membranes.