AirLift MBR for municipal wastewater treatment: out of the box performance

Abstract

In recent years, Norit has developed and proven a totally new concept for treating domestic wastewater. The concept applies the side-stream AirLift principle using the robust and reliable side-stream cross-flow concept while incorporating all the advantages of the low energy consuming submerged systems. Based on this ‘outside the box thinking’, a new membrane bioreactor (MBR) concept was developed offering the solution, which is fully beneficial to the potential of ultrafiltration (UF) membranes. The biological box can be designed and operated optimally, while the UF installation can be handled as a separate unit, performing cleanly, safely and efficiently, while producing bacteria and virus-free water for recycling or ecological discharge. Recently, the first full-scale installations have been commissioned successfully, while currently larger installations are under construction and will be commissioned soon. This article presents the development of the AirLift MBR concept from the proof of concept till commercial installations.

Keywords:

• Wastewater treatment
• Membrane bioreactor
• Ultrafiltration
• Side-stream
• Airlift
• Cross-flow