Sequencing batch reactor
A biological treatment can be done in one single tank. In this case the water has to be treated in batch.
Generally there are 4 phases in one treatment cycle:
- Filling the reactor with fresh influent water
- Aerating the reactor with air to supply oxygen for the bacteria so they can consume the unwanted compounds in the water
- Sedimentation to separate bacterial sludge from clean effluent
- Emptying the tank by removing clean water
Optionally, an anaerobic phase can be added in the batch process for nitrogen removal (denitrification).
A sequencing batch reactor (SBR) needs a relatively large tank to buffer the water during the treatment of a batch. The large tank also has the purpose to homogenize the waste water.
An SBR does have a restricted hydraulic capacity. When the capacity of waste water is too big, it is no longer interesting to work in batches. In that case it would be better to switch to a continuous system.
Sometimes, an additional filtration step is necessary for the post-treatment of the purified water. In this case, the use of an active carbon filter, sand filter or ultra-filtration is considered.
PCA can help you with this technology, both in design and construction of the installation.
