Membrane Science and Technology

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Study on the nitrification performance of a membrane aerated biofilm reactor based on a surface-modified aeration membrane

Authors： CHEN Yasong1 , LIU Jiayin2, LIU Mengmeng1, SUN Wan1, CHENG Gang2, WANYAN Deqing2, ZHANG Congcong2, QIU Yong2, HUANG Xia2

Units： 1. National Engineering Research Center of Eco-Environment in the Yangtze River
Economic Belt, China Three Gorges Corporation, Wuhan 430014, China;
2. School of Environment, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084， China

KeyWords： membrane aerated biofilm reactor (MABR); aeration membrane; surface modification; nitrification performance; microbial community

ClassificationCode：TQ028.3; X703

year,volume(issue):pagination： 2026, 46(3):129-137

Abstract：

This study developed a Membrane Aerated Biofilm Reactor (MABR) system utilizing a surface-physically modified aeration membrane to investigate the effects of key operational parameters on nitrification performance. Surface modifications, including patterned striping and mesh wrapping, significantly enhanced the biofilm attachment capacity and stability in the MABR. Experimental results demonstrated a rapid biofilm start-up period of only 12 days. Upon achieving stable operation, the system exhibited a stable nitrification efficiency and load adaptability. With the influent ammonia nitrogen concentration ranging of 21~107 mg/L, the ammonia removal load showed a positive correlation with the influent concentration. At an aeration rate of 5 L/(m2·h), the system achieved an ammonia removal load of 2 g/(m2·d), and further increasing the aeration rate did not significantly enhance the removal efficiency. In the low transmembrane pressure range (0~12 kPa), appropriately increasing the pressure led to a 19% improvement in ammonia removal load. However, when the pressure was elevated to a medium level (24 kPa), the removal performance stabilized. The corresponding minimum theoretical oxygen transfer rate under these conditions reached 11.43 g O2/(m2·d), which was significantly higher than the rate of 4.05 g O2/(m2·d) measured in clean water. During extended stable operation, the system maintained a consistent ammonia removal load of 2 g/(m2·d). High-throughput sequencing revealed that the average relative abundances of the nitrifying bacterial genera Nitrosomonas and Nitrospira in the MABR biofilm increased by approximately 6.1 and 5.3 percent points, respectively, compared to the inoculated sludge. These findings indicate that the surface-physically modified aeration membrane facilitates stable biofilm formation, thereby enhancing the nitrification performance and operational stability of the MABR system.

Funds：

中国长江三峡集团公司科研项目资助（NBWL202300013）

AuthorIntro：

第一作者简介：陈亚松（1982-），男，湖北黄石人，博士，正高级工程师，研究方向为水环境系统治理；刘佳音（1985-），女，黑龙江齐齐哈尔人，硕士，高级工程师，研究方向为污水资源化。*通讯作者,E-mail: xhuang@tsinghua.edu.cn

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