Difference between MBR and MBBR

Difference between MBR and MBBR

MBR (Membrane Bioreactor) and MBBR (Carrier Fluidized Bed Biofilm Reactor) are two different sewage treatment technologies, which have significant differences in definition, principle, operation and maintenance, and treatment effect.

1. Definition and Principle

MBR

Definition: MBR is the abbreviation of membrane bioreactor, which is a new water treatment technology that combines membrane separation technology with bioreactor.

Principle: MBR uses membrane components to replace the secondary sedimentation tank at the end of traditional biological treatment technology, maintains a high concentration of activated sludge in the bioreactor, increases the organic load of biological treatment, and reduces the amount of sludge by maintaining a low sludge load. The membrane component is mainly used to intercept activated sludge and macromolecular organic matter in the water.

MBBR

Definition: MBBR, also known as moving bed biofilm reactor, is a new sewage biochemical treatment technology combined with biofilm method.

Principle: MBBR adds a certain amount of suspended carriers to the reactor, which provide a good growth and reproduction environment for microorganisms, thereby increasing the biomass and biological species diversity in the reactor, thereby improving the treatment efficiency. The collision and shearing effect of these suspended carriers in water can also make air bubbles smaller and increase the utilization rate of oxygen.

2. Operation and Maintenance

MBR

Membrane Component Life: The service life of membrane components in MBR is generally 4 to 5 years, and the replacement cycle is short.

Operation and Management: Daily operation and management requires chemical cleaning, offline cleaning and other maintenance work on the membrane components, which makes operation and management difficult.

Cost: The operation cost of the MBR process is high, and the annual maintenance and replacement costs of the membrane components may reach more than one million.

MBBR

Packing Management: The packing in MBBR can be added once, and only the biofilm management on the packing needs to be strengthened in subsequent operation.

Operation and Maintenance: Compared with MBR, the operation and maintenance of MBBR is relatively simple.

Investment: The investment in the MBBR process during the construction period is large, but the later operation and maintenance costs are low.

3. Treatment Effect

Organic Matter Removal

MBR: Rely on its high sludge load to remove organic matter.

MBBR: Rely on the biofilm on the packing to remove organic matter.

Nitrogen and phosphorus removal

MBR: The removal of TN (total nitrogen) depends on the front-end biological method, and the MBR membrane itself has no removal effect on TN; the removal of TP (total phosphorus) requires the front-end chemical phosphorus removal.

MBBR: The removal effect of TN is better; the removal of TP also requires chemical phosphorus removal.

Suspended solids removal

MBR: MBR membrane can better remove suspended solids (SS).

MBBR: There is no removal effect on SS, and it needs to rely on the back-end ultrafiltration membrane process to remove it.

In summary, MBR and MBBR have their own advantages in the field of sewage treatment. MBR is known for its efficient suspended solids removal ability and stable organic matter removal effect, but the operation and maintenance cost is high; while MBBR is favored for its lower operation and maintenance cost and higher nitrogen removal ability. When choosing which process to use, it should be comprehensively considered according to specific water quality requirements, treatment scale, operation cost and other factors.