Effect of Membrane Bio Reactor on Nutrient Removal from Hospital Wastewater

Presence of nutrients in hospital wastewater causes a wide range of environmental problems and that their removal from wastewater is necessary. The newest technology for nutrient removal from wastewater is membrane biological reactors (MBR). This study aimed to evaluate the efficiency of nutrient removal from hospital wastewater by MBR process in Babol Clinic Hospital. This descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out using a pilot-scale MBR at the wastewater treatment site of the hospital. 30 samples were obtained from influent and effluent of pilot-scale and wastewater treatment plants in 62 days. Samples were taken into the laboratory and spectrophotometer was used to analyze samples. Data were analyzed by SPSS Ver. 18 software and reported as mean ± SD. In Pilot-scale plant، NH3_N، NO2_N، NO3_N، and PO4-P decreased by 82. 6، 82. 1، 82. 1، and 60. 2%، respectively. While at the same time respective reduction values for NH3_N، NO2_N، NO3_N، and PO4-P in hospital wastewater treatment plant were 38. 6، 35. 4، 35. 1، and 5. 4%. The results of the study showed that MBR is an effective method to remove nutrients from hospital wastewater and it meet the standards set for the release of effluent to water bodies.