MBR Leachate treatment

Key Message

Landfill leachate is known to be one of the most complex wastewaters, and its treatment demands the most robust, adaptable and reliable technology that is in fact the external MBR with tubular UF membranes. Given the high fouling potential and the low filterability in leachate MBRs, the vast majority of MBRs for landfill leachate treatment are based on the external tubular membrane technology.

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Benefits of MBR Treatment of leachate with tubular UF

Biological processes are the core of the treatment process in most cases. In this way, organic matter and nitrogen are eliminated and released as CO₂ and N₂ gases. The Berghof external MBR entails numerous advantages over the conventional biological treatments and the submerged MBRs, as enumerated below:

Efficient

Highly efficient biological treatment: the operation at high MLSS concentration (12 – 15 g/L, up to 30 g/L) provides long sludge ages, which intensifies the acclimatization of biomass and its performance even with the most complex leachates. Slowly biodegradable organics and nitrogen are removed very efficiently.

Plug & Play

Quick and flexible implementation. Filtration systems based on Berghof membranes are 100% modular and plug & play. In addition, the systems can be easily containerized. Retrofitting and upgrading conventional leachate treatment plants is simple and fast. Future expansion of the plant can be done very easily.

Minimum footprint

Due to the higher biomass concentration in the bioreactor and the operation with high permeate flux, that minimizes the installed membrane area.

The high modularity of the UF systems allows adapting the skid’s location to the available space or installing them inside a standard container.

Effluent Quality

After treatment with tubular ultrafiltration membranes the leachate effluent is free of solids, without turbidity, and low SDI . The effluent from the membrane bioreactor can be directly fed to NF or RO when color or salts need to be eliminated for discharge in natural water bodies.

Robust

Our external tubular membranes are less affected by leachate variabilities or the presence of foulant compounds. These are known to affect the performance of submerged membranes. Moreover, fouling control by adaptive hydrodynamic conditions and backwash/CEB can be easily implemented, in order to achieve the most stable operation even under the most challenging conditions.

Operator Friendly

Ease of maintenance. The external crossflow filtration circuit can be easily isolated for any maintenance operation with minimum system downtime. Berghof membranes are easily accessible, robust, and less susceptible to breakage. Resulting in a long membrane lifespan and an easy-to-use system.

The MBR process provides the highest possible levels of organic removal, with essentially zero suspended solids in the effluent and excellent nitrification and de-nitrification.

Landfill leachate MBR wastewater treatment - the process

Landfill leachate is treated with the tubular MBR technology. The biological stage combines aerobic and anoxic reactors for removing the significant amount of nitrogenated compounds present in the leachate. The external tubular modules coupled to the biological process produce a free-of-solids permeate that can be discharged to the sewer, or being post-treated with NF, RO or activated carbon for removing the dissolved refractory organic matter and conductivity. By doing so, the effluent can be discharged to water bodies or reused in the landfill site, for irrigation or other uses.

Project References

Take a look at our case studies

Water softening | New Material Industry

Project Details

Application: Water softening
Capacity: 200 m³/d
Membrane: 8mm PVDF, CR
Location: Huguan County (China)

Project Details

Product: AnMBR and MBR in parallel
Membrane: 8mm, PVDF, backwashable
Capacity: 1,900 m³/day
COD load: 9,000 to 18,000 kg/day
Location: Wisconsin

Project Details

Product: AnMBR
Membrane: 8mm, PVDF, backwashable
Capacity: 155 m³/day
BOD load: 1,587 kg/day
Location: Menomonie, Wisconsin

Manufactured in Germany

Made in a state-of-the art LEAN-production facility, with highly-trained production personnel and materials of the highest quality.

Tubular UF Membrane Modules

To prevent fouling and clogging, Berghof Membranes developed its line of robust tubular UF (ultrafiltration) membrane modules based on inside-out crossflow filtration.

Membrane Skid systems

Berghof Membranes developed B-SMART^®, a customizable external membrane filtration system that can be designed with various features and functionalities.

Pilot systems & Lab testing

Bridging the gap between lab-scale testing and manufacturing. Our experts gives you the confidence to apply the technology for your specific wastewater challenges.

B-CARE^® Service and Support

The B-CARE® program is an end-to-end comprehensive program developed to support our OEM partners from the piloting/engineering phase to operational system monitoring.