Akademik Veri Yönetim Sistemi
ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY MANAGEMENT, cilt.35, sa.4, ss.1-15, 2026 (SCI-Expanded, Scopus)
This study investigated the treatment performance of high-strength slaughterhouse neck blood wastewater using a submerged membrane bioreactor operated at different fluxes (8, 10, and 12 L m−2 h−1), corresponding to hydraulic retention times of 44.4, 35.5, and 29.6 h, respectively. The influent wastewater exhibited average chemical oxygen demand, ammonium nitrogen, and phosphate phosphorus concentrations of 1055 ± 70 mg L−1, 0.3 ± 0.1 mg L−1, and 45 ± 5 mg L−1. The mixed liquor suspended solids concentration increased to approximately 12 g L−1 and remained stable under a sludge retention time of 50 days, indicating successful biomass acclimation. The system achieved high removal efficiencies for organic matter and phosphorus, with chemical oxygen demand and phosphate phosphorus removal exceeding 97% under all conditions and reaching 99.3 ± 0.4% and 99 ± 0.6%, respectively, at the lowest flux. In contrast, ammonium nitrogen accumulated in the effluent (40–70 mg L−1), indicating net ammonium production rather than removal. This behavior resulted from the biological degradation of protein-rich substrates and limited nitrification under reduced hydraulic retention times. Increasing flux led to decreased effluent quality and increased membrane fouling. Short-term transmembrane pressure analysis revealed that fouling rates increased from 2.55 to 7.33 kPa day−1 as flux increased from 8 to 12 L m−2 h−1, resulting in a reduction of estimated cleaning intervals from approximately 10 days to 3–4 days. The findings demonstrate that submerged membrane bioreactor systems are highly effective for carbon removal and apparent orthophosphate reduction in protein-rich wastewaters. In contrast, nitrogen removal remains a key limitation, underscoring the need to optimize operational conditions to improve treatment performance.