Membrane Bio Reactors (MBR)

Find Membrane Bio Reactors (MBR) with high efficiency and consistent quality

Membrane Bio Reactors (MBR) in wastewater treatment is a combination technology between biological processes (bioreactors) and membrane separation processes to produce treated water with excellent quality.

Basic Principles

1. Bioreactor
   Wastewater is first treated biologically with microorganisms. This process is similar to an activated sludge system, where bacteria degrade organic matter, nitrogen, and other pollutants.
2. Membrane
   Afterward, the sludge and wastewater mixture is passed through a membrane (usually a microfiltration or ultrafiltration membrane). This membrane serves as a physical filter to separate clean water from sludge and suspended solids.

Advantages of MBR

• High effluent quality: The output water is clear, free of suspended solids, bacteria, and many organic pollutants.
• Smaller land footprint: As the conventional sludge settling process is replaced by membranes, the installation becomes more compact.
• Reuse capability: MBR produced water can be reused for irrigation, industrial cooling, or even as an initial stage for drinking water after advanced treatment.

Disadvantages/Challenges

• Higher operational cost: Large energy consumption for aeration and membrane washing.
• Membrane fouling: Membranes are often dirty (clogged) requiring regular cleaning by backwashing or chemicals.
• Initial investment is expensive compared to regular activated sludge systems.

Typical Applications

• Hospital sewage treatment plants
• Urban domestic sewage treatment
• Food & beverage industry
• Pharmaceutical industry
• Water reuse (e.g. for toilet flushing or landscape irrigation)

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Typical Applications

• Hospital Wastewater Treatment Plants — Treats clinical liquid waste containing pathogens, residual antibiotics, and pharmaceutical compounds to strict discharge standards before release to public drains.
• Food and Beverage Industry — Produces high-quality effluent from high-organic waste in meat and dairy processing plants that can be recycled as cooling water or toilet flush water.
• High-Density Residential Areas — Compact MBR systems for apartment towers or housing clusters not reached by municipal WWTP networks, producing water safe for discharge or reuse in landscape irrigation.
• Pharmaceutical Industry — Treats fermentation and antibiotic production waste with consistent biomass-free effluent meeting very strict environmental regulations.
• Five-Star Hotels and Resorts — MBR produces clean recycled water for toilet flushing, garden irrigation, and decorative ponds — reducing fresh water consumption by 30-40%.
• Industrial Estates with Limited Land — MBR footprint is 2-3 times smaller than conventional activated sludge systems, ideal for dense industrial estates in Jabodetabek and Surabaya.

Compatible Products

• Betaqua MBBR Filter Media — MBBR media can be combined with MBR in a hybrid MBBR-MBR configuration to increase biological capacity without adding tank volume.
• Dissolved Air Flotation (DAF) — DAF as MBR pre-treatment removes fats and coarse TSS from food industry waste, preventing membrane fouling that shortens membrane module service life.
• Betaqua Ultrafiltration — External UF modules as an alternative to submerged membranes in certain MBR configurations, or as additional polishing after MBR to meet high-grade water recycling standards.

Installation Context

Betaqua MBR systems typically integrate a bioreactor aeration tank with submerged or external (side-stream) ultrafiltration membrane modules. The bioreactor unit requires approximately 30-50% less space than an equivalent activated sludge system because no separate secondary clarifier is needed. Utility requirements include fine bubble diffusers for biological aeration and coarse bubble aeration (scouring) for periodic membrane cleaning, three-phase 380 V power, and clean water supply for periodic membrane backpulse. A CIP (Clean-In-Place) system using NaOCl and citric acid is required every 3-6 months to restore membrane flux. Commissioning takes 4-8 weeks including activated sludge seeding, biological acclimatisation, and operational parameter optimisation by the Beta Pramesti Asia technical team.