A fermentative strategy with an anaerobic moving bed biofilm reactor (AMBBR) was used
for the treatment of domestic wastewater. The feasibility of using a membrane separation
technique for post-treatment of anaerobic bio-effluent was evaluated with emphasis on
employing a membrane distillation (MD). Three different hydrophobic 0.2 mm membranes
made of polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF), and polypropylene
(PP) were examined in this study. The initial permeate flux of the membranes ranged from
2.5 to 6.3 L m2 h1 when treating AMBBR effluent at a temperature difference between the
feed and permeate streams of 20 C, with the permeate flux increasing in the order
PP < PVDF < PTFE. The permeate flux of the PTFE membrane gradually decreased to 84% of
the initial flux after the 45 h run for distillation, while a flux decline in MD with either the
PVDF or PP membrane was not found under the identical distillation conditions. During
long-term distillation with the PVDF membrane, total phosphorus was completely rejected
and >98% rejection of dissolved organic carbon was also achieved. The characterization of
wastewater effluent organic matter (EfOM) using an innovative suite of analytical tools
verified that almost all of the EfOM was rejected via the PVDF MD treatment.