MBBR Technology
The Moving Bed Biofilm Reactor (MBBR) process is one of the most efficient biological solutions for the treatment of municipal and industrial wastewater. Biofilm is cultivated within specially-engineered microbe carriers and is used in a variety of treatment options for organic removal, nitrification, denitrification and detoxification.
Because of its biological nature, a high rate of treatment is achieved with a very low footprint. They are also a low-maintenance solution, tolerant of high bulking and high toxicity levels.
Biofilm applications can be used at a variety of process levels, and can function as a standalone treatment solution, or used to enhance the treatment of other processing stages through a range of fully customisable treatment applications.
WHAT IS BIOFILM TECHNOLOGY?
MBBR biofilm technology is a low-footprint biological water treatment process used in the treatment of municipal and industrial wastewater and sludge. The technology consists of specially-engineered polyethylene carriers, within which biofilm - consisting of several different microorganisms ranging from bacteria to ciliates and rotifers - is grown.
MBBR technology is used for organic removal, nitrification and denitrification, and detoxification in both municipal and industrial applications. Because the nature of the carrier can be customised, the technology can provide tailored treatment options for municipalities and industries in a variety of process streams, while integration into existing works is also fairly straightforward. MBBR processes are thus ideal for both new plants as well as upgrades and expansions of older plants.
A bioreactor is a defined, dedicated treatment basin where biofilm is added. While biofilm growth can also be attached - that is on the surfaces of the container for slow microbial transformations (see below) - its principle proprietary use is as a suspended surface growth.
The biofilm carriers, or biocarriers, have a density slightly lower than water and a protected surface that is designed for the propagation of microbes, and come in different variations for different treatment applications and wastewaters. The carriers are kept in motion by the blast air injection in an aerobic system, or by stirrers in an anoxic or anaerobic system.
The MBBR can form a single treatment process, or it can be used in a train which combines other treatment technologies or other biofilm states. A multi-phase biofilm train results in unique microfloras within each stage, which significantly increases the possibility for the removal of both easily-degradable and stubborn organic matter.
HOW DOES IT WORK?
The MBBR treatment reactor is fed the municipal/industrial wastewater, which it holds, together with the biocarriers, for a certain time while the impurities and pollutants in the water are transported to the biofilm, and thus reduced. Biocarrier design needs to be optimised for the treatment application, ensuring healthy mass transfer of substrate and oxygen to the microorganism.
Reactors are fitted with an aeration grid at their bottom, which supplies oxygen to the biofilm along with the turbulence required in maintaining suspension of the biocarriers. Following treatment, the water is ejected from the reactor through a grid or a sieve, retaining the carriers within the reactor.
As well as a standalone MBBR solution, biofilm technology can be used in an array of treatment processes and in enhancing and upgrading the functionality of other, existing biological processes:
WHAT ARE THE ADVANTAGES?
Because the treatment activity is a result of microflora digestion, MBBR technology has low energy requirements, entailing a small footprint. The energy required by biofilm treatment is only in the conveyance of water between treatment areas.
The MBBR biofilm technology handles extremely high loading conditions without clogging. The rate of organic degradation can be customised according to load, while sieves and/or grids control the output quality and retain the biofilm carriers. Suspended biofilm systems offer increased durability towards toxicity and variable loading, simple operation and a treatment system insensitive of bulking sludge.