The MBR Blog

MBR academic research, past and present

Academic research into MBRs has been dominated by studies of membrane fouling and foulant characterisation. Key topics, such as process failure risk, chemical cleaning impacts on membrane life, and pretreatment requirements, have been largely overlooked.

Water management – sustaining freshwater supplies

The ever-decreasing supply of freshwater has led to revisiting of the subject of wastewater reclamation generally. Should we be building larger reservoirs and focus on recovering the water following its domestic or industrial use?

Microbial fuel cells: something for nothing?

The MFC-MBR technology offers potential for low-energy wastewater treatment. But it is unclear how much latent electrical energy can be recovered from the wastewater and the cost is of retrofitting the MFC components to an existing MBR technology.

How much is sludge worth?

The UK regulator OFWAT has introduced legislation based on the notion of sludge as a resource. Its value is often expressed in terms of calorific content, and the phosphate is also potentially recoverable. But how exactly should sludge value be quantified?

US vs SI units: a conversation on conversion

For the mechanical parameters of mass, length, time, flow rate, density, viscosity, force, pressure, energy and power, adherence to US units imposes unnecessary barriers in understanding their inter-relationships based on the governing physical laws.

Guest blog: Trumping regulations

Pre-1970s, water regulation was about rights, to control excessive pollution. 1970-2000, there was a push to protect water sources from pollution. Since 2000, the watchwords have been sustainability and climate change but there is still some way to go.

Defining MABRs, MBBRs and MBRs − terms and terminology

Abbreviations like MABR, MBBR and MBR suggest these technologies are pretty similar, but actually they refer to completely different things. Let’s face it, the acronyms do kind of suggest they are related − so we define the terms in our handy table.

Biosolids vs sewage sludge

Biosolids are usually considered to be the useful fraction of the sewage sludge. They are generally higher in solids concentration and lower in pathogen content, having gone through a stabilisation process such as chemical dosing, digestion and/or drying.

Guest blog: The circular economy in wastewater management – micropollutants drive the change

Two significant micropollutants are microplastics and per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), and these substances are already causing water utilities to rethink their biosolids strategies, encouraging a change in mindset among industrial sectors.

Sludge incineration vs anaerobic digestion − the simple truth

Guest blog: Prospects for water reuse and the Semmelweis reflex

When travelling to California in the early 2000s,Graeme Pearce was struck by the difference in attitude to water reuse between Los Angeles and San Diego. Only 100 miles separate these two centres, but the attitude to reuse is chalk and cheese.