Membrane Bioreactors with external

membranes in wastewater treatment

- some case studies

Cornelia Timm

Membrane Bioreactors with external membranes in wastewater treatment

WEHRLE Umwelt GmbH today:

„

more 25 years of experience in the waste water business

„

100% subsidiary company of WEHRLE-WERK AG

„

45 employees

„

waste water treatment for the industry and

leachate from landfills

„

plants for mechanical- biological treatment of solid

waste

„

More than 140 references world-wide

„

Turn over 10-15 Mil. €

Membrane Bioreactors with external membranes in wastewater treatment

WEHRLE Technologies

LOAD of INFLUENT

EFFLUENT QUALITY

conv. BIO SBR

BIOMEMBRAT

®

SZR

®

SZR

®

/UF

Process

Combinations

BIODI

GAT

®

SB

AF

AS

AC

NF

RO

Membrane Bioreactors with external membranes in wastewater treatment

What are Membrane Bioreactors (MBR) ?

Membrane BioReactors are biological wastewater treatment plants where the activated
sludge (or biomass) is separated from the treated wastewater by a membrane, not by
a settling basin.

BIOLOGICAL

TREATMENT

COD + N elimination

ULTRAFILTRATION

Sludge Separation

Sludge

Circulation

Sludge

Circulation

WASTEWATER

CLEAN WATER

Advantages of MBR:
- higher sludge concentrations (20 – 30 g/l)
- higher sludge age (up to 70 days)
- more specialists in the biomass
- better cleaning results ⇒ less surplus sludge
- smaller footprint
- no particels or germs in outlet (due to membranes)
- better prerequisite for secondary treatment

Membrane Bioreactors with external membranes in wastewater treatment

MBR

with submerged membranes

bioreactor

air

sludge

permeate

inflow

ultrafiltration

exhaust gas

Membrane Bioreactors with external membranes in wastewater treatment

MBR

with external membranes

bioreactor

air

sludge

permeate

inflow

exhaust gas

ultrafiltration

Membrane Bioreactors with external membranes in wastewater treatment

Permeate

sm

all

m

ole

cu

le

s

sm

all

m

ol

ec

ule

s

bi

g m

ol

ec

ul

es

bi

g

m

ol

ec

ul

es

W

ate

r

Submerged Membrane- Filtration

Membrane

Membrane

Membrane

Membrane

Bio Mass

Bio Mass

W

ate

r

W

ate

r

W

ate

r

W

at

er

W

at

er

W

at

er

sm

al

l m

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ec

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al

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bi

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m

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m

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Submerged membrane filtration

Membrane Bioreactors with external membranes in wastewater treatment

Cross- Flow Membrane- Filtration

Membrane

Membrane

Permeate

Flow

Permeate

Membrane

Membrane

sm

all

m

ol

ec

ule

s

sm

all

m

ol

ec

ule

s

bi

g

m

ol

ec

ule

s

bi

g

m

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cu

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s

W

ate

r

W

ate

r

Bio Mass

“Cross Flow” membrane filtration

Membrane Bioreactors with external membranes in wastewater treatment

Submerged MBR vs. Cross Flow (MBR)

External (Cross Flow) systems
+ high permeate flux (up to 200 lm

-2

h

-1

)

+ low membrane replacement cost
+ easy cleaning (CIP)
+ many references in industrial applications + leachate
+ robust against fouling and precipitation

- higher energy consumption

Internal (submerged) systems
+low energy consumption
+many references in municipal applications

- low average permeate flux (≤ 10 lm

-2

h

-1

)

- high membrane replacement costs
- high space requirements
- difficult to clean („on air“)
- prone to fouling (membranes) or precipitation

(aerator plates)

Membrane Bioreactors with external membranes in wastewater treatment

Case Study: Cadbury Spain I

Bioreactor

cross – flow UF

Membrane Bioreactors with external membranes in wastewater treatment

Case Study: Cadbury Spain II

COD concentration and COD elimination

0

2.500

5.000

7.500

10.000

12.500

15.000

17.500

20.000

Aug. 07

Okt. 07

Nov. 07

Jan. 08

Mrz. 08

Apr. 08

COD [m

g/L]

0%

25%

50%

75%

100%

COD Elimina

tion (%)

COD Permeate

COD Influent

COD Elimination

Membrane Bioreactors with external membranes in wastewater treatment

Case Study: Cadbury Romania

Process chart

of WWT of

Cadbury Romania

Influent

Drum Screen

Aerated Buffer

Bioreactor

Ultrafiltration

Permeate Tank

Effluent

Sludge

Air

DAF

Sludge

Dekanter

Sludge

Air

Membrane Bioreactors with external membranes in wastewater treatment

Case Study: Kellogg Manchester

COD influent and effluent concentrations at Kellogg’s in Manchester, UK

0

2.500

5.000

7.500

10.000

12.500

15.000

1. Mai 06

8. Mai 06

15. Mai 06

22. Mai 06

29. Mai 06

5. Jun 06

12. Jun 06

19. Jun 06

CO

D [mg

/l

]

COD discharge

COD feed WWTP

Membrane Bioreactors with external membranes in wastewater treatment

Landfill leachate treatment - BIOMEMBRAT

®

I

The WEHRLE BIOMEMBRAT

®

process for landfill leachate and industrial wastewater treatment

Membrane Bioreactors with external membranes in wastewater treatment

Landfill leachate treatment - BIOMEMBRAT

®

II

BIOMEMBRAT

®

leachate treatment

plant in Bilbao, Spain

Membrane Bioreactors with external membranes in wastewater treatment

Landfill leachate treatment - BIOMEMBRAT

®

III

Containerized biological wastewater treatment system

Membrane Bioreactors with external membranes in wastewater treatment

Landfill leachate treatment - BIOMEMBRAT

®

III

Containerized UF

for biomass separation

Membrane Bioreactors with external membranes in wastewater treatment

Thank you for your attention.

Please visit us in Sala Take Ionescu

Stand no. 56.

Membrane Bioreactors with external membranes in wastewater treatment

Case Study: Uzavas Alus, Latvia I

Process chart of WWT Uzavas Alus, Latvia

Equalization/Storage

V = 150 m³

V = 100 m³

V = 100 m³

Biology I

V = 100 m³

Biology II

V = 100 m³

Ultrafiltration

Permeate

7 m³/h

Air

Air

Concentrate

Excess sludge

Wastewater

neutralisation

Dosing of
- 45-55 % NaOH
- 74-85 % H

3

PO

4

Membrane Bioreactors with external membranes in wastewater treatment

Case Study: Uzavas Alus, Latvia II

Bioreactor (left)

and containerized

membrane filtration (right)

Membrane Bioreactors with external membranes in wastewater treatment

Case Study: Uzavas Alus, Latvia II

COD concentration and COD elimination at Uzavas Alus site in Latvia

0

200

400

600

800

1.000

1.200

1.400

1.600

1.800

2.000

Aug. 08

Sep. 08

Okt. 08

Nov. 08

Dez. 08

Jan. 09

Feb. 09

Mrz. 09

Apr. 09

COD [

m

g/L]

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

COD

Elimin

at

io

n

(

%

)

COD Discharge

COD Feed WWTP

COD Elimination