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Industrial Effluent Treatment using

Membrane Bioreactors

Steve Churchouse
CIWEM and IChemE Seminar
Bridgewater 12th May 2005

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Kubota Process
Development

Pilot plant and testing from 1989

First commercial plant commissioned August 1991

First sludge treatment plants 1994

Over 1200 plants are operational or under construction (Jan 2005)

> 600 industrial plants

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The Kubota Process

Schematic operation

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Membrane Bioreactor Operation

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The Kubota Process

Membrane unit and panels

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Membrane Surface
Kingston Seymour membrane after 4 years continuous operation

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Kubota Membrane Units

Membrane filtration
top section (150 panel)

Basic Product Range

Includes aeration and filtration sections

Standard Kubota units:
7 - 200 panels
Double Deck design:
300 and 400 panel
- reduced plan area
Custom designs to fit application
Gravity or suction operation

Diffuser aeration
lower section

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Double Deck Membrane Unit

Top Membrane
Section

Intermediate Section

Lower Membrane
Section and Manifold
Diffuser Section

3.5m

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Double Deck Plant

Membrane diffuser sections

Feb 04

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Double Deck Plant

Double deck membrane units commissioning

Feb 04

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Double Deck Plant

Tanks 1 & 2 operational

July 04

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Example Operational Plants

Applications

Sewage
Sludge treatment
Sludge liquor treatment

Pharmaceutical/Chemical
Malting effluent
Paper effluent
Milk processing plant

Sugar processing
Drinks and Food processing
Tobacco wastewater
Leachate treatment
Greywater recycling
Theme park
Office block
Garden centre

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Example:- Pulp and Paper Industry

Pilot Pilot Trials

Pulping Plant, Tissue and Paper Manufacture (SA)

Tissue production (Med rim)
Medium density fibreboard (Ireland)
PIRA Biowise trials (UK)

Paper towel tissue and baby wipes

Newspaper recycling

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10 panel pilot trial paper industry

10 panel pilot plant

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Paper Industry Trials

Containerised Plant

Aim to:
- Evaluate biological treatability
- Establish sustainable flux rates and key
design criteria

- Demonstrate potential for water reuse

Tissue production wastewater

Plant includes fine bubble aeration dO2
75 membrane panel unit (60 m2)

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Pulp and Paper Industry Trials

Feed BOD mgO2/l Permeate BOD mgO2/l

BOD removal
1000
900
800
700
600
500
400
300
200
100
0

50

100

150

Time in days

200

250

300

Feed BOD (mgO2/l)

Permeate BOD (mgO2/l)

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Pulp and Paper Industry Trials

COD removal
1800
1600
1400

COD mgO2/l

1200
1000
800
600
400
200
0
0

50

100

150

Time in days

200

250

300

Feed COD (mgO2/l)

Permeate COD (mgO2/l)

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Paper Industry Trials

Results from trial 1

15/4 2/6/2004

Average Feed

Permeate

COD

1188

81 (93%)

BOD

450

< 15 (97 %)

SS

71

0.01 (>99.9)

NH3

0.1

< 1.6

(+ ~15 mgN addition)

(Overdose of nutrient)

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Paper Recycling plant

Case study

White and brown paper recycling

900 m3/d design flow (actual FFT 1100 m3/d)

1-4,000 kg COD/d

New river discharge consents

10 EK 400 double deck units
Start-up April 04
Commissioning problems include limescale formation

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Full Scale Paper Recycling MBR plant

General view showing balance and pre aeration tanks

Installing lower deck of membrane unit

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COD Removal full scale plant

5000
4500

COD (mg/l O2)

4000
3500
3000

Plant shutdown

2500
2000
1500
1000
500
0
03-Apr

23-Apr

13-May

02-Jun

22-Jun

12-Jul

Raw Water

01-Aug

Permeate

21-Aug

10-Sep

30-Sep

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Pharmaceutical Application
The problem - existing plant

Biologically and hydraulically overloaded, insufficient biomass

Poor and erratic settlement
Failure to meet discharge consents
Limited land availability
Difficult wastewater
COD 7-13000 mgO2/l
3-9000 mgCl/l

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Pharmaceutical Application
Upgraded plant
4000 kg COD/d

200 m3/d
100 m3/d

Anoxic
zone

Raw feed

Stream 2
Pre aeration A

Aeration tank
Stream 1
Steam 2
Aeration B

Membrane
Aeration tank
45 m3
Clarifier

Membrane Sludge recycle

Final effluent

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Pharmaceutical Application

3 x 150 panel membrane units

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Sugar By-product Wastewater

The problem - existing plant

Biologically and hydraulically overloaded, insufficient biomass

New discharge consents
Difficult wastewater
COD 18000 mgO2/l
High organic acid content pH 2.7- 4 feed
High levels of acetic and formic acids
Chemical neutralisation prohibitively expensive

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Sugar By-product Wastewater

pH control critical
Sample pH

Biomass Culture Viability

7.0

80%

6.0

80%

5.5

75%

5.0

5%

< 5.0

Biomass dead

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Sugar By-product Wastewater

75 panel pilot plant trial including additional FBDA

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Sugar By-product Wastewater

Constructing the 4000 m3 FBDA and Membrane tank

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Sugar By-product Wastewater

Inside the FBDA and Membrane tank showing 12 x 400 panel membrane units

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Sugar By-product Wastewater

Completed treatment plant in operation May 2005

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Vinyl production

Middle East vinyl processing wastewater (background is the petrochemical plant)

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Drinks Manufacture

2 x 3000 m3 FBDA and 10 x 200 panel membrane units

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Food Preparation/Processing

Combined 150 m3 FBDA and 200 panel membrane installation

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Operation & Maintenance

Key MBR process

Daily - none (auto flush of aerators)

~ Weekly or when sampling, visual check of aeration pattern
Remote monitor check on trends

6 monthly - in-situ chemical cleaning

Yearly - visual health check of membrane units
4-5 yearly check. Refurbish or replace any failed membranes and
reuse cleaned membranes

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Chemical Cleaning
Sewage / industrial applications

In-situ cleaning as a backwash - no removing units or sludge

Organic fouling - 6 monthly cleaning with typically 0.5% NaOCl
Inorganic fouling (Al, Fe) yearly cleaning with 1% Citric or Oxalic acid.
(CaCO3 scaling), 0.5 - 3 % HCl

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Membrane Life - Example Plants

Porlock (sewage)

13 panels replaced out of 3600 after 5 years during test

inspections (4 of 13 were found to be ok).
40 panels out of 3600 by 7.2 years (~ 1 %)
No effect on effluent quality - no operational failures detected

Milk processing

<100 panels out of 11100 replaced in 6 years

(Customer repaired additional 200 panels).

Malt effluent

5 panels replaced out of 2700 in 3.8 years

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Installation and Commissioning

Critical Factors

Install screening and grit removal. 3 mm screening on all plants

Ensure blowers, pumps and auto-standby function before start
Remove debris from construction. Clean tanks before use
Install membranes last
Ensure software-operating system works
Do not rush start-up!

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Membrane Bioreactor Technology

Membrane costs
Rev 2005

450

Relative Membrane Cost

400
350
300
250
200
150
100
50
0
1991

1993

1995

1997 1999
Year

2001

2003

2005

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Membrane Bioreactor Technology

Overall process costs
8640 m3/d sewage treatment plant (100 l/s)

160

Overall amortised capital

Maintenance
Membrane replacement
Sludge disposal

Relative cost / m at 100 l/s

140
120

Power
Chemicals
screenings
rent and rates

100
80
60

Costs projected in
1999

40
20
0

1992

1994

1995

1996

1998
Year

2000

2002

2004

2005

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Membrane Bioreactor Technology

Relative costs 1992 2005 per m3
1992

1992

8640 m3/d plant

1998

Power
Maintenance
Chemicals
Membrane replacement
Screenings
Sludge disposal

13 c /m3
1994

Rent and rates

2002

11 c /m3
89c /m3
61c /m3

1998

7.5 c /m3

2005

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Conclusions
Kubota process

MBR's have proven both reliable and simple to operate

High effluent quality, full scale plants match pilot performance
Membrane failure rates very low, < 1 % total over >5 years.
Indicative membrane life 10 years provided Operated and Maintained correctly
Scale and number of plants has increased by x 40 since 1998
Factors:- increasing need for high effluent quality, greater operating
experience and reduction in costs