Industrial development along with increase in population leads to environmental pollution and water scarcity. Hence there arise a need for wastewater treatment and water reuse. Membrane bioreactor is an advanced wastewater treatment technology which is a combination of activated sludge process with micro – and ultra filtration. The present study was carried out to investigate the robustness of MBR in treating pharmaceutical wastewater under different hydraulic shock loads. The study was carried out in a lab scale aerobic submerged membrane bioreactor. The membrane bioreactor was installed and operated at three different HRTs (8 h, 6 h and 4 h) with the flow rates of 0.75 L/h, 1 L /h and 1.5 L / h. Reactor was run for the duration of 8 days at each hydraulic retention time (HRT) and the effluent characteristics were studied to find out optimum HRT. The hydraulic shock loads was imposed to the MBR gradually by increasing the influent flow rate in stepwise manner. Each shock was applied for duration of 24 h, after 24 h the flow rate was brought back to steady flow. The effect of each hydraulic shock load was assessed by comparing the effluent quality, sludge characteristics before and after shock load. Removal of organics in the MBR was around 86 - 88 % efficiency, TSS removal efficiency of 87%, TKN and Phosphate removal efficiency of 84 % and 31 % respectively was reported in the steady state condition (HRT 8 h). COD, BOD, TSS, removal efficiencies at hydraulic shock load conditions (4 h ,2 h, 1.3 h) decreased to 50 -30 %, 51 - 37 % and 64 - 33% respectively in comparison with the steady state condition (HRT 8 h). A decrease in TKN and phosphate removal efficiency to 59 - 41 % and 6 - 7 % respectively was also observed at different hydraulic shock loads.
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2022: 6.012
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