Effect of temperature on treating chemical synthesis‐based pharmaceutical wastewater containing 7‐ ACA by a novel multi‐stage loop membrane bioreactor

BACKGROUND 7‐amino cephalosporanic acid (7‐ ACA ) is the most critical intermediate for cephalosporin antibiotics but has caused serious water pollution. In this study, a bench‐scale test was conducted with a novel multi‐stage loop membrane bioreactor ( MsLMBR ) to treat chemical synthesis‐based pharmaceutical wastewater containing 7‐ ACA .RESULTS The MsLMBR system comprised a multi‐stage loop aerobic reactor and a separate membrane module operated at different temperatures. Results showed that for MsLMBR1 at 15°C, MsLMBR2 at 25°C and MsLMBR3 at 35°C, the average total chemical oxygen demands ( TCODs ) of the effluent were all less than 80 mg L −1 . For MsLMBR2 and MsLMBR3 , the microorganisms had better microbial activities and drug‐resistances, and the biological removal was given priority to TCOD removal. But for MsLMBR1 , there was no significant difference between biological removal and physical removal at the early stage. Average 7‐ ACA concentration of effluent was less than 40 mg L −1 at 35°C. The laboratory data fitted the simulated data well using a time series analysis model ( TSAM ) in a MsLMBR system.CONCLUSION 7‐ ACA pharmaceutical wastewater was effectively treated in a MsLMBR system, which also performed well at low temperature. In addition, the TSAM was a valid means to simulate and predict the efficiency of removal of an organic substance. © 2014 Society of Chemical Industry