MOVINGBEDBIOFILMREACTORTECHNOLOGYAFULLSCALEINSTALL

MovingBedBiofilmReactorTechnology–AFullScaleInstallationforTreatmentofPharmaceuticalWastewaterMOVINGBEDBIOFILMREACTORTECHNOLOGY–AFULL-SCALEINSTALLATIONFORTREATMENTOFPHARMACEUTICALWASTEWATERJohnBrinkley,P.E.,BCEE,ProjectManager,Stearns&Wheler,PLLC,Raleigh,NC*ChandlerH.Johnson,President,AnoxKaldnes,Inc.,Providence,RIRobertSouza,PrincipalEngineer-Utilities,TalecrisBiotherapeutics,Clayton,NCABSTRACTTodaymanywastewatertreatmentfacilitiesarebeingexpandedtoprovideadditionalcapacitybecauseofincreasedflowandorganicloading.Oftenthesefacilitieshavelimitedspaceduetoencroachingdevelopment.Asaresult,processescontinuetobedevelopedtoaddressthesiteconstraintsfacedbymunicipalandindustrialwastewatertreatmentfacilities.Oneoftheseprocessesisactivatedsludgewithsuspendedfixed-filmpacking,suchastheMovingBedBiofilmReactor(MBBR).MBBRsincorporatebenefitsprovidedbybothfixedfilmandactivatedsludgeprocesses.TheMBBRprocessisacontinuousflowprocesswhichusessmallhighdensitypolyethylene(HDPE)carrierelementstoprovidesitesforactivebacteriaattachmentinasuspendedgrowthmedium.Thisallowsahigherconcentrationofactivebiomasstobemaintainedinthereactorforbiologicaltreatmentwithoutincreasingthereactorsize.Theresultismoretreatmentcapacitywithinagivenreactorvolume,resultinginasmallerfootprintcomparedtoaconventionalactivatedsludgeprocess.Inaddition,unliketheconventionalactivatedsludgeprocessMBBRsdonotrequirereturnactivatedsludgepumping.TalecrisBiotherapeuticslocatedinClayton,NorthCarolinaisapharmaceuticalproductionfacilitywhichmanufacturesplasmaproductsforthehealthindustry.TheoriginalpretreatmentfacilityincludedanaerobiclagoonwithsolidsrecyclefortreatingthewastewaterfromtheproductionprocessesbeforedischargingthetreatedeffluenttotheTownofClayton’swastewatercollectionsystem.Thewastewatertreatmentfacilityconsistedofamaceratorequippedwithascreeningauger,twoabovegroundequalizationbasins,anearthenaeratedlagoon,twosecondaryclarifiers,andanaeratedsludgeholdingbasin.Thefacilityusesacontracthaulerfordisposalofthewasteactivatedsludge.TalecrisBiotherapeuticsplannedtoexpandtheirplasmaproductionoperationintheareawheretheaerobiclagoonwaslocated.Thisrequiredalternativebiologicaltreatmentprocessestobeevaluated.Duetositeconstraints,Talecrisinvestigatedprocessesthatwouldtreatvariablehighstrengthwastewaterinasmallfootprintandprovideprovisionsforfutureexpansion.TalecrisselectedtheMBBRprocessduetothesuccesstheprocesshashadfortreatinghighstrengthwastewaterforcomparablepharmaceuticalapplications.The0.5milliongallonperday(mgd)MBBRprocessconsistsoftworeactorsoperatedinseriesdesignedtotreataninfluentandeffluentBiochemicalOxygenDemand(BOD5)of3,197mg/Landlessthan75mg/L,respectively.Thispaperpresentsacasestudyforthefirstfull-scaleMBBRprocessintheStateofNorthCarolina.KEYWORDS-biologicaltreatment,industrialwastewater,fullscale,movingbedbiofilmreactorINTRODUCTIONTalecrisBiotherapeutics,formerlytheBayerCorporation,isapharmaceuticalproductionfacilitywhichmanufacturesplasmaproductsforthehealthindustry.ThefacilitylocatedonHighway70outsideofClayton,NorthCarolinaisoneofthelargestbloodplasmafractionationfacilitiesintheworld.Domesticandprocesswastewatergeneratedatthefacilityistreatedbyanon-sitewastewatertreatmentplant(WWTP).TreatedeffluentfromtheWWTPisdischargedtotheTownofClayton’swastewatercollectionsystemandisregulatedbyanindustrialuserpermit(IUPNo.001-002)issuedbytheTown.Table1providesasummaryofthepermitlimitsrequiredbytheIUP.ThelimitslistedinTable1aremaximumMovingBedBiofilmReactorTechnology–AFullScaleInstallationforTreatmentofPharmaceuticalWastewateraveragedailyvalues.Intheevent,theaveragemeasuredvalueforagivenconstituentexceedsthevaluelistedbelow,thefacilitycouldbeissuedanoticeofviolation(NOV)bytheTown.Table1:PretreatmentEffluentLimits(IUPNo.001-002)ParameterEffluentLimitUnitsFlow0.5mgdWastewaterTemperature66oCpH6-9DimensionlessBiochemicalOxygenDemand(BOD5)150mg/LChemicalOxygenDemand(COD)350mg/LAmmoniumNitrogen(NH4-N)20mg/LTotalSuspendedSolids(TSS)200mg/LTotalLead0.05mg/LTotalNitrogen(TN)40mg/LTotalPhosphorus(TP)8mg/LAcetone1.5mg/Ln-AmylAcetate0.5mg/LEthylAcetate0.5mg/LIsopropylAcetate0.55mg/LMethyleneChloride0.38mg/LTheoriginalwastewatertreatmentfacilitycommissionedin1978consistedofastabilizationpond,anearthenaerobicbasinwithsolidsrecycle,onesecondaryclarifier,andawasteactivatedsludgestabilizationpond.Since1978,thefacilityhasundergonetwofacilityupgrades;onein1985toexpandthefacilityto0.40milliongallonsperday(mgd)andanotherin2004toinstalladditionalaerationequipmenttokeeppacewiththeincreasedflowandloads,resultingfromproductionoperations.Majormodificationsforthe1985upgradeincludedreplacingtheexistingstabilizationpondwithtwo400,000gallonabovegroundequalizationtanks,twoduplexpumpingstations,theadditionoffourfloatingsurfaceaerators,theinstallationofasecondaryclarifier,andexpansionofthereturn/wasteactivatedsludgepumpingstation.In2004,thefacilitywasre-ratedto0.50mgdfollowingtheadditionoffourfloatingsurfaceaerators.ThefacilitypriortotheMBBRupgradeconsistedofthefollowingprocesscomponents:•Communitorwit