Abstract
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This study reveals for the first time that near-anoxic conditions (dissolved oxygen, DO - 0.5 mg/L) can be
a favorable operating regime for the removal of the persistent micropollutant carbamazepine by MBR
treatment. The removal efficiencies of carbamazepine and sulfamethoxazole by an MBR were systematically
examined and compared under near-anoxic (DO'" 0.5 mg/L) and aerobic (DO> 2 mg/L) conditions.
Preliminary batch tests confirmed that sulfamethoxazole is amenable to both aerobic and anoxic biotransformation.
However, carbamazepine-a known persistent compound-showed degradation only
under an anoxic environment. In good agreement with the batch tests, during near-anoxic operation,
under a high loading of 750 J.l8"/Ld, an exceptionally high removal (68 ± 10%) of carbamazepine was
achieved. In contrast, low removal efficiency (12 ± 11%) of carbamazepine was observed during operation
under aerobic conditions. On the other hand, an average removal efficiency of 65% of sulfamethoxazole
was achieved irrespective of the DO concentrations.