A large amount of white, viscous foam that is difficult to break forms in the MBR tank.

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The wastewater in question comes from mobile phone panels, and the treatment process involves anaerobic treatment (1) – aeration tank – aeration tank – nitrification tank (4) – denitrification tank – further aeration tank – MBR. The inlet COD level is 2000, total nitrogen levels range from 150 to 200, and ammonia nitrogen levels range from 80 to 100. The daily volume of wastewater entering the system is 2500 tons. The MLSS level in one of the tanks is around 7500, while the MLSS level in the MBR is around 10,000; the SVI value is approximately 150. Foam formation started suddenly during operation, and it has persisted for over a week without any sign of reduction. Question 1: Does this process belong to the typical AB method? However, there is no independent recirculation; only the MBR recirculates to tank 1 and tank 4 (currently, all recirculation goes to tank 1). Question 2: Is the white, viscous foam mainly caused by surfactants? What should be done in that case? (Due to concerns about membrane clogging, it was not possible to add antifoam agents directly to the MBR; attempts were made to add them to Pool 1, but with little effect.) PS: I can’t fall asleep, so I’m reaching out to those who are willing to learn from each other; thank you.