Performance of Membrane Bioreactor in Palm Oil Mill Effluent Treatment: An Overview

Malaysia is amongst the biggest palm oil manufacturer and exporter in the world associated with the high discharge of effluents. Membrane bioreactor (MBR) can be employed to treat the palm oil mill effluent (POME). However, data on MBR in treating POME is quite limited and could vary across different reported works. Thus, this study aims to provide some latest updates on the MBR technology in treating the POME. Based on the evaluation, separation of POME by using MBR can produce a good quality of effluent compared to conventional POME treatment. Mixed liquor suspended solids removal for a retention time of 11 days can be improved from 57.3% to 94.5 % using the MBR. According to analyses, when the MBR operating temperature falls into thermophilic region, the separation efficiency will start to decrease. Optimization of the MBR performance based on the operating temperature could be suggested in enhancing the overall MBR performance in treating POME.