Data for: Design and Evaluation of Degassed Anaerobic Membrane Biofilm Reactors for Improved Methane Recovery

The goal of this study was to develop and evaluate an anerobic treatment system designed to overcome limitations associated with mass transfer resistances caused by fouling of dissolved methane recovery membranes in anaerobic membrane bioreactors. To this end, a novel attached growth anaerobic treatment system designed to emphasize the growth of the attached biofilm, rather than its removal, to optimize reactor performance. To accomplish this, a methane producing biofilm was developed on the shell side surface of submerged hollow fiber membranes, which allowed for immediate recovery of methane as it was produced, negating the liquid boundary layer and mass transfer fouling resistances. Impacts of membrane surface treatment on biofilm development were investigated as well. Details of the performance and characterization of the anaerobic treatment system can be found in DAMBR_Performance_and_Characterization_Data.xlsx