MBR (Membrane Bioreactor) is a novel and highly efficient wastewater treatment process that combines efficient membrane separation technology with the traditional activated sludge process. It uses uniquely structured MBR flat-sheet membrane modules placed in an aeration tank. After aerobic aeration and biological treatment, the water is pumped through the filter membrane and then extracted. MBR wastewater treatment differs significantly from traditional wastewater treatment methods, replacing the secondary sedimentation tank and tertiary treatment processes in traditional methods with a membrane separation device. This results in high-quality effluent, solving the problem that traditional environmental protection equipment cannot meet the requirements for reclaimed water reuse. The water treated by MBR can be used directly as municipal water or further treated for various industrial applications.
The presence of the MBR membrane significantly enhances the system's solid-liquid separation capability, resulting in substantial improvements in the effluent quality, volumetric loading, and overall performance of the MBR membrane bioreactor. The treated water meets high quality standards ( exceeding the national Class A standard ) . After disinfection, it becomes high-quality reclaimed water with excellent water quality and biological safety, which can be directly used as a source of reflux. Due to the filtration effect of the membrane, microorganisms are completely retained within the MBR membrane bioreactor, achieving complete separation of hydraulic retention time and activated sludge age, eliminating the sludge bulking problem inherent in traditional activated sludge processes. The MBR membrane bioreactor offers advantages such as high pollutant removal efficiency, strong nitrification capacity, simultaneous nitrification and denitrification, good nitrogen removal, stable effluent quality, low residual sludge production, compact equipment, small footprint ( only 1/3 to 1/2 of traditional processes ) , convenient expansion and modification, high degree of automation, and simple operation.
The MBR membrane bioreactor module series boasts advantages such as compact structure, aesthetically pleasing appearance, small footprint, low operating costs, stability and reliability, high degree of automation, and convenient maintenance and operation. MBR wastewater treatment produces high-quality effluent, exceeding reclaimed water standards. Utilizing unique MBR flat-sheet membrane technology, it overcomes many shortcomings of conventional hollow fiber membranes, making it a leading international wastewater treatment product. The MBR membrane bioreactor series has been standardized, with each module consisting of 50-150 standard flat - sheet membranes. Custom designs are also available to meet specific user needs.
I. Purpose:
• Upgrading and renovation of existing sewage treatment plants and waterworks;
• Construction of municipal wastewater treatment plants and waterworks;
Treatment of high-concentration organic wastewater;
• Pretreatment for pure water production;
• Reclaimed water reuse;
II. Scope of Application: • Municipal and domestic wastewater; hospital wastewater; laundry wastewater; industrial wastewater; food wastewater;
III. Main advantages:
MBR membrane bioreactors have the following significant advantages in the application of MBR wastewater treatment and MBR wastewater reuse projects:
1. MBR membrane bioreactors have high pollutant removal efficiency and produce high-quality treated effluent;
2. MBR membrane bioreactors have high sludge concentration, large volumetric load, and small footprint;
3. MBR membrane bioreactors are beneficial for retaining slow-growing or highly efficient microorganisms, thereby improving the nitrification effect and the ability to treat recalcitrant organic matter .
4. The amount of residual sludge produced by MBR membrane bioreactors is low;
5. MBR membrane bioreactors are easy to automate and convenient to operate and manage;
6. After treatment, the suspended solids (SS) and turbidity of the discharged water are close to zero, making it suitable for reuse.
MBR (Multi-Bio Reactor) wastewater treatment equipment is suitable for treating small-scale, decentralized water pollution, such as in government offices, scenic tourist attractions, residential communities, new rural construction projects, and schools. It offers advantages such as small footprint, high efficiency and energy saving, intelligent control, low energy consumption, stable effluent quality, and unattended operation.
IV. Technical Characteristics: Characteristics of Membrane Bioreactor Technology:
Membrane bioreactors (MBRs) are a novel wastewater biological treatment system that combines traditional biological wastewater treatment technologies with membrane separation technology. Simply put, it involves directly placing hollow fiber membrane modules into an aeration tank for sludge-water separation. Utilizing the selective permeability of the membrane, it achieves bioaccumulation in the aeration tank, significantly improving biological treatment efficiency. The biologically treated wastewater is then further separated by the membrane to obtain clean reclaimed water. It is an important technology for protecting the water environment and realizing wastewater resource recovery.
• For newly built wastewater treatment plants, the land area required is smaller than that of traditional processes, approximately 1/3 to 1/5, which can effectively save land; if it is an upgrade of an existing wastewater treatment plant, the treatment capacity can be significantly increased without adding structures.
• Achieves bioaccumulation and cometabolism. It can effectively intercept long-generation-cycle microorganisms in wastewater, such as nitrifying bacteria, thereby effectively degrading ammonia nitrogen in the water. Furthermore, the cometabolism resulting from the aggregation of large numbers of microorganisms can degrade some organic matter that is difficult to biodegrade.
• Due to the membrane's flow-blocking effect, the biomass concentration in the biological phase is very high, reaching over 10,000 mg/L , thus exhibiting strong resistance to shock loads;
Since the sludge-water separation after biological treatment uses membrane separation technology, there is no need to worry about problems such as filamentous bacteria growth, sludge floating, and loss that occur in traditional biological treatment technologies, making the operation simpler and more convenient.
• The effluent water quality is excellent and stable.
V. Characteristics of UE-MBR membrane bioreactor technology:
• A balanced flow distribution and control system;
• Air cleaning and diversion devices for membrane modules;
• Convenient and flexible modular membrane frame design;
• Independent biological treatment and membrane zone design;
• Online backwashing;
Chemical cleaning;
VI. Characteristics of petrochemical wastewater:
It contains a large number of toxic compounds ( such as oils, phenols, amines, ethers, compounds, and sulfur-containing compounds ) .
• Contains recalcitrant pollutants ( such as toluene, xylene, olefins, alkanes, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, monocyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and their derivatives, etc. ) ;
• Poor biodegradability; traditional biological treatment processes for this wastewater generally suffer from poor removal of ammonia nitrogen and oil, and weak resistance to shock loads.
• There is a certain degree of shock load, which is very detrimental to the stable operation of the biochemical treatment system.
The practical application of membrane bioreactor (MBR) technology in petrochemical wastewater treatment and reuse clearly demonstrates that after effectively solving technical problems such as stabilizing high-concentration biological activity, maintaining membrane flux, and scaling-up effects, MBR technology ( taking UE-MBR technology as an example ) can effectively degrade organic pollutants and other nutrients in petrochemical wastewater. It features strong resistance to shock loads, high biological treatment efficiency, and a small footprint. The effluent can be directly reused in cooling circulating water systems or used as pretreatment feedwater for advanced treatments such as sodium filtration or reverse osmosis. This is crucial for enterprises to reduce pollutant emissions, improve wastewater reuse rates, and ensure the safety of reuse systems. It also provides valuable insights for the treatment and reuse of other industrial wastewater with similar characteristics, making it worthy of vigorous research and promotion. To some extent, MBR technology originates from traditional biological wastewater treatment processes, but it has achieved a level of sophistication that traditional biological wastewater treatment technologies struggle to reach. Therefore, we have reason to believe that MBR technology can handle, or even better handle, any wastewater that can be treated by traditional biological treatment technologies. Of course, membrane bioreactor technology is not a panacea. In its application, it must be organically combined with traditional wastewater pretreatment and other treatment methods to maximize its effectiveness and achieve large-scale engineering applications.
