Membrane Biofilm Reactor for Nitrate and Perchlorate Treatment

Research was conducted on a pilot-scale drinking water treatment plant system utilizing a membrane biofilm reactor (MBfR) for treatment of nitrate and perchlorate where the MBfR uses anaerobic autotrophic biodegradation for the complete destruction of nitrate and perchlorate. The purpose of the study was to demonstrate the feasibility of MBfR technology, evaluate process monitoring and control parameters to optimize performance, and estimate full-scale technology life cycle costs compared to conventional treatment. During steady state, total nitrogen was reduced from an influent average of 9.0 mg-N/L to an average of about 0.12 mg-N/L with the factors controlling performance being influent flow rate and recycle flow rate. The treatment objective goal for perchlorate was not met in the study, but was consistently removed. While the MBfR is effective for nitrate, perchlorate reduction was significant but not complete.