AMBR™ on a salad washings effluent
Aquabio Ltd - Aerobic Treatment
Aquabio Ltd provide a range of process solutions for aerobic treatment of wastewater using ultrafiltration membranes. The use of ultrafiltration has the added benefit that it provides the perfect pre treatment for water reuse systems (Nanofiltration or Reverse Osmosis)
Below is a summary of our aerobic processes:
AMBR™
AMBR™ is an aerobic wastewater treatment solution, combining jet and slot aeration with membrane bioreactor technology.
The basic process is an intensive activated sludge system with high biomass concentrations which enables a compact installation with high organic carbon removal and low surplus sludge yields.
The separation of biomass from the treated effluent is achieved by a "crossflow"ultrafiltration membrane system, thus producing very high quality effluent suitable for reclamation or potable reuse in combination with post treatment by reverse osmosis/disinfection (e.g. UV, ozonation, chlorination). More details are available on the AMBR™ product page
AMBR LE™
The AMBR LE™ process builds on the success of the AMBR™ process above with the addtion of intermittent backflushing for the control of membrane fouling. The reduced fouling allows a reduction in crossflow velocity and a significant saving in energy. Medium to high MLSS concentrations are accommodated and AMBR LE™ is aimed at medium to high flow and low to high strength wastewater. This process includes variable speed recirculation pumps to allow for management of the flux rate to optimise energy consumption relative to the plant load. Plants remain very compact, with low membrane area and moderate membrane replacement costs.
AMBR LE™ is particularly suited to applications with inconsistent or variable wastewater flows, high peak or seasonal loads, or when electricity costs are moderate to high. More details are available on the AMBR LE™ product page
BIOVERT™
AMBR BIOVERT™ is a low energy cross-flow membrane separation process. The membrane separation is provided by banks of vertically mounted cross-flow membranes. Further details are available on the BIOVERT™ product page.
Membrane System Comparisons
The table below provides a brief summary and comparison of the Aquabio Ltd Aerobic processes. These processes are compared to equivalent submerged hollow fibre / flat sheet processes
| MBR Type | Normal Operating MLSS (gTSS/l) | Sustainable Normalised Flux lmH | Separation Energy for permeate produced kWhr/m3 | Configuration / Maintenance | Energy Management |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AMBR™ | 10 to 20 (air) 15 to 35 (oxygen) |
80 to 250 | 1.8 to 3.5 | Dry, out of tank. Low level, horizontally mounted membranes | Yes, banks are automatically flushed and shut downom low / no flow |
| AMBR LE™ | 10 to 20 | 40 - 120 | 0.25 to 1.4 | Dry, out of tank. Low level, horizontally mounted membranes | Yes, banks are automatically flushed and shut downom low / no flow |
| Biovert® | 8 to 15 | 30 to 60 | 0.2 to 0.5 | Dry, out of tank. Vertically mounted membranes | Yes, banks are automatically flushed and shut downom low / no flow |
| Submerged HF/Flat Sheet | 6 to 12 | 8 to 25 | 0.6 to 2 | Submerged in biomass. Vertically mounted with coarse air scouring from below | No, membranes are submerged in biomass and must be regulary scoured. Energy can be >2 kwHr/m3 during low / no flow |
Axensis™ OXY-MBR
In association with BOC Linde, Aquabio provide the Axensis™ OXY-MBR process. The Axensis™ OXY-MBR provides the same ultrafiltration separation technology as the AMBR system above. The aeration is provided by the injection of oxygen into the bioreactor. This has the advantages of reduced plant footprint with even lower sludge yield than the AMBR™ or BIOVERT™processes. Further details are available on the Axensis™ OXY-MBR product page