RESUMO
Based on the consistent anaerobic status of outer layer of membrane-aerated biofilm reactor (MABR) and internal anaerobic baffled reactor (ABR), MABR and ABR were started up separately. The aerating membrane module was installed into a compartment of anaerobic baffled bioreactor to form the Hybrid MAB-ABR (HMABR). After the installation of membrane module, total COD and VFA concentrations in the HMABR effluent were deceased by 59.5% and 68.1% respectively, with increased nitrogenous pollutant remove efficiency by 83.5%, at influent COD concentration of 1600 mg/L and NH4+ -N concentration of 80 mg/L. When organic loading rate was increased by 50%, the effluent COD concentration was still below the level of 60 mg/L, indicating its good capability of counteracting influent organic loading fluctuation. Due to the decreased COD concentration and increased nitrate concentration in the third compartment after installing the membrane module, the biogas volume and methane contents in the third compartment were decreased, resulting in the steady and excellent effluent quality. In this hybrid process, the improved simultaneous removal of carbon and nitrogen for high-strength nitrogenous organic pollutants was realized in a single reactor.