Emerging contaminants (ECs) are chemical substances known to harm human health and the environment. This research evaluated the use of an anaerobic dynamic membrane bioreactor (AnDMBR) for ECs removal from wastewater. Two parallel AnDMBR systems, fed with synthetic wastewater, were operated to assess ECs impact and microbial adaptability: one received a single contamination (AnDMBR1), while the other received continuous contamination (AnDMBR2). The studied ECs were the antibiotics norfloxacin (NOR) and sulfamethoxazole (SMX), and the pesticides atrazine (ATZ) and 2,4-D. Filtration was achieved using a dynamic membrane (DM) in a semicontinuous, gravity-driven mode. Both AnDMBRs showed a significant reduction in apparent color and turbidity and high COD removals (over 95%). The DM contributed to lower color/turbidity values but did not significantly affect COD. Sludge deflocculation was observed in AnDMBR2. SMX achieved high removal rates in both AnDMBRs. For the other ECs, AnDMBR1 showed higher values than AnDMBR2. However, AnDMBR2 exhibited greater microbial diversity, suggesting that the continuous addition of ECs favored the development of specialized microorganisms.
Ribeiro et al. (Thu,) studied this question.