Moving bed biofilm reactors: a small-scale treatment solution

Abstract

The design and operational suitability of the moving bed process for small-scale sewage treatment systems were evaluated. A prototype plant was installed at a new housing development near Winchester, UK, and operated under different conditions over an eight-month period. During normal operation, the MBBR plant produced a good quality effluent with average values for BOD5, COD, SS and NH4-N of 15.6 mg l-1, 65.9 mg l-1, 21 mg l-1 and 4.7 mg l-1, respectively. The plant was further subjected to organic and hydraulic shock loads. The treatment performance remained high over the organic shock period, however, hydraulic surges of up to 10 times the design flow caused a loss of solids from the final settlement stage. While organic carbon removal resumed to over 80% within a single week after a prolonged power failure, effluent NH4-N values remained high for a period of three weeks. Besides producing a good quality effluent, the MBBR plant proved to be simple and reliable to operate, thus providing a viable treatment solution for small-scale applications.