MEMBRANE FILTER

A smaller surplus sludge results in a higher average age of the activated sludge leading to more component-specific bacteria and not only to fast-growing bacteria. Therefore, a Membrane Bio Reactor is very suitable to treat more heavily polluted industrial waste streams. The particle-free effluent is suitable for direct reuse or can be upgraded further by means of reverse osmosis for high-grade application as process water.

The combination of biological treatment with membrane filtrationoffers several significant advantages over a
conventional activated sludge system as presently being used forindustrial wastewater, such as less surplus sludge and particle free-effluent.

An Membrane Bio Reactor (MBR) is a compact-built purification system combining the biological degradation step with a membrane separation step. The influent is fed to the aerated bio-reactor where the organic components are oxidisedby the activated sludge. Next, the aqueous activated sludge solution passes through a membrane filtration unit separating the water from the sludge. The latter returns to the bio-reactor, while the permeate is discharged or re-used as particle-free effluent.