Patent ID: 7279102

Claim:
A method of treating wastewater comprising: splitting a wastewater having a concentration of a pollutant into a first wastewater fraction and a second wastewater fraction; delivering to a membrane bioreactor the first wastewater fraction having a first concentration of the pollutant that exceeds the permitted discharge standard for the pollutant and producing an effluent from the membrane bioreactor having a concentration of the pollutant less than the permitted discharge standard for the pollutant; delivering to a biological wastewater treatment system the second wastewater fraction having a second concentration of the pollutant that exceeds the permitted discharge standard for the pollutant and producing an effluent from the biological wastewater treatment system having a concentration of the pollutant greater than the permitted discharge standard; and combining at least a portion of the effluent from the membrane bioreactor with at least a portion of the effluent from the biological wastewater treatment system to create a blended effluent having a concentration of the pollutant no greater than the permitted discharge standard.