Location: Wisconsin USA
Application: External AnMBR system
Capacity: 2.160 m3/day
BOD load: 25.000 – 50.000 mg/L
Membrane: 8 mm, PVDF, backwashable
Among the food industries, the dairy industry is considered to produce one of the largest quantities of wastewater and one of the highest organic pollutants mass loads. The milk itself is the main source of flow and organic pollutants load from this type of industry.
The wastewater is produced in the process of cleaning and sanitizing tanks, pipelines and equipment, loading and unloading tanker trucks, and as a result of milk and whey spillage and leakage. The milk entering the factories can account for 75 % to 95 % of the total effluent volume with the condensate of the whey byproduct often being used in the cleaning and sanitizing operations.
A dairy processor based in Richland County, Wisconsin, challenged Berghof Membranes:
The stream being treated is the segregated and diverted high-strength wastewater from multiple milk processing factories. The volume and strength of this combined wastewater vary considerably from day today. Total flow to the industrial wastewater treatment facility is expected to average up to 2.160 m3/day.
Biological treatment of this wastewater is complicated by residual cleaning agents and biocides used in the daily sanitizing operations. Scaling is a common and difficult-to-control problem in the wastewater treatment process of the dairy industry due to the high calcium content.
Berghof Membranes, with its extensive experience in treating industrial effluent using PVDF tubular membranes, developed a compact AnMBR system for the Wisconsin-based dairy processor. The Berghof system ensures complete retention of the biomass within the anaerobic digester and brings a significant improvement in the digestion process, making it more robust, reducing the footprint, increasing biogas production and delivering superior effluent quality.
Any remaining bacteria and solid particles from the anaerobic digesters are removed from the water using the external Berghof tubular ultrafiltration membranes.
The wastewater treatment facility eliminates pollutants and solid matter from the wastewater that was previously used on farm fields or discharged to the municipal systems.
The Berghof Membranes external AnMBR technology utilizes variable crossflow velocity in order to create the necessary turbulence which controls the scaling inside the membranes.
This technology consistently achieves a superior effluent quality with more that 99 % COD reduction and is also extremely effective in total phosphorus reduction. The produced biogas is utilized within the facility, generating electrical power and heat.
The high concentrated organic matter and nutrients are a source of energy and can be used for the production of heat or power for the wastewater treatment plant. The high strength wastewater from milk processing factories is best treated using an anaerobic MBR system.
AnMBR treatment offers a more compact technology and is very efficient in removing organic pollutants: > 99 % reduction compared to only 75 % to 90 % using other methods.
In this project, AnMBR treatment created an opportunity to harness both improved management of waste while generating electrical power and heat to be utilized within the facility.
High-strength, variable dairy wastewater from multiple milk processing plants is efficiently treated using a combined AnMBR and MBR approach.
A dairy processor treats high-strength wastewater from multiple milk processing factories using AnMBR technology, achieving high effluent quality and energy recovery.
AnMBR technology efficiently treats high-strength wastewater in a cheese factory, ensuring stable performance and high-quality effluent.
