ABSTRACT
The combination of an activated sludge tank and a membrane fil tration unit for the separation of activated sludge is defined as the mem brane-coupled activated sludge process (MCASP). Consequently, the difference from the conventional activated sludge process lies only in the separation of the activated sludge. In conventional final clarifiers only the fraction of the activated sludge that forms floes and settles can be retained. With membrane filtration, all parts of the activated sludge that are larger than the cutoff of the membrane are retained. As a re sult, the separation of the activated sludge from cleaned wastewater is independent of the sedimentation qualities of the activated sludge and is only dependent on the inserted membrane.
