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Downstream from the pharmaceutical industry, we increasingly find ourselves having to treat wastewater to make it suitable for discharge into surface water bodies.
In some cases, these are organic compounds; therefore, COD, Nitrogen, Phosphorus, and within the COD also the residual organic molecules of API (Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients).
Since the first MBBR pharmaceutical plant in 1997, Anoxkaldnes Veolia's biological technologies have evolved far beyond traditional suspended mass activated sludge plants. These are MBBR (Moving Bed Biofilm Reactor), where biomass is attached to a moving bed on a carrier, which is mixed inside the biological tank. This compact solution is ideal for industries with limited space. MBBR is a technology suitable for APIs with moderate or difficult biodegradability. Various upgrades have also been carried out on existing CAS (Conventional Activated Sludge) plants, converted with MBBR sections to improve their efficiency.
Biological treatment means that microorganisms work in place of chemical agents. It is the most sustainable way within the BAT for treating biodegradable substances. In some pharmaceutical plants, MBBR eXeno™ (Ozone and MBBR) technology has been applied as a final stage for refining and reducing the toxicity of the wastewater.
An MBBR case study is the Grindeks plant for treating Meldonium. The wastewater, 200-500 m3 / day, is highly complex in terms of both COD (2000-7000 mg/l) and nitrogen (100-200 mg/l), Total P 8 mg/l, TSS 50 mg/l, pH 4-10.
In every new project, the first step is to analyse composite samples taken on site, filtered at 1.6 μm. The sampling frequency varies based on the production batch schedule. For example, 2 samples/week, for 4 weeks. Then, in our laboratories, we build a full-scale MBBR pilot plant, which is operated for two months. The final plant is then built. At Grindeks, the plant has five MBBR sections in series to remove COD, nitrogen, phosphorus, and phenols, followed by a complete nitrification and denitrification system. The different compartments typically found in a biological plant, with aerobic tanks in series using suspended biomass technologies, would all use the same type of microorganisms. However, with MBBR compartments, the bacteria specialise for each type of contaminant. The first section removes readily biodegradable COD, followed by the more difficult-to-biodegrade COD. There are many other cases of moderately biodegradable compounds already covered: Ketoprofen (MBBR removal of 75%, CAS only 10%), Gemfibrozil (MBBR removal of 73%, CAS only 15%), and among the poorly biodegradable ones: Clofibric Acid (MBBR removal of 25%, CAS only 8%), Diclofenac (MBBR removal of 22%, CAS only 4%).
Veolia's expertise in pharmaceutical industrial wastewater treatment plants is complemented by technologies for the treatment of low-boiling compounds or antibiotics (e.g., clindamycin, gabapentin) with Evaled™ technology. Veolia MPPE (Macro Porous Polymer Extraction ) technology is used for hydrocarbon solvent residues used in synthesis processes.
