A Thermophillic MBR Solution to Reuse Waste Water in Chemical Industry

Norit produces or reactivates carbon in a multitude of factories and the production plant in Glasgow, Scotland, wished to improve their environmental performance. Through the introduction of an innovative wastewater treatment system in combination with an internal effluent reuse, the amount of wastewater and the pollutant load have been reduced. A significant part of the washing water (around 80%) is now recycled and the production of sludge as well as the wastewater discharge is reduced to almost zero. Traditionally, wastewater containing bio-degradable organic compounds is processed through aerobic treatment. This natural biological degradation and purification process involves optimizing the supply of oxygen to micro-organisms that break down the waste’s organic components. However, treatment of the sludge resulting from the process requires a large amount of chemicals and energy, and entails serious environmental impact and risks. Norit implemented a hybrid membrane bioreactor (MBR) plant, which enables start-up and stabilization of the biological process at mesophilic conditions (30 – 40 deg C) and the gradual transition to thermophilic operation (45 – 55 deg C). Running aerobic processes under thermophilic conditions has significant advantages over traditional operation; one of the most important being the reduction of the sludge production to almost zero. The hybrid design of the MBR plant allows for the switching of the operations from mesophilic to thermophilic mode.

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