A new anaerobic reactor to produce more energy and provide efficient industrial treatment process

23 January 2023

Sebigas presents the Patented Energy Cell AnMBBR (Anaerobic Moving Bed BioFilm Reactor), a technological solution for international markets.

A technological proposal for International markets is now available thanks to the partnership between Sebigas, a company specializing in biogas with more than 80 plants worldwide, and Headworks International, a US company with over 30 years of experience specializing in wastewater treatment technologies for industrial and municipal effluent treatment using MBBR/IFAS and a pioneer in the Patented AnMBBR process.

This highly engineered technology allows industries such as dairies, breweries, paper mills, sugar refineries, distilleries, and slaughterhouses to convert their wastewater treatment plants into assets by utilizing their discharged wastewater to capture renewable energy. Additionally, anaerobic treatment has significant advantages over its aerobic counterpart beside the production of usable energy in the form of biogas. AnMBBR has lower energy demands, a smaller footprint, and less sludge production.

For example, a medium-sized dairy, which produces 100 m³/day of wastewater containing whey, treated with the new anaerobic MBBR reactor, would produce:

– 90-120 Nm³/h of biogas
– 200÷250 kWh of electrical and thermal energy, for an annual production of 2 million kWh.

The Sebigas and Headworks partnership aims to provide sustainable solutions for industrial wastewater treatment. Through their partnership, both the companies will further expand their business opportunities and their network in the international markets.

How does the anaerobic reactor MBBR work?

The collaboration between Sebigas and Headworks includes Headworks’ EnergyCell Anaerobic MBBR for new wastewater management systems or the retrofitting of existing treatment plants. The treatment of industrial wastewater in anaerobic digestion takes place with the insertion into the reactor of “media carriers,” virgin plastic elements whose shape is characterised by a large, protected surface area. Left in suspension, they act as a support for the proliferation of bacteria: the concentrated biofilm created on the surfaces of the carrier allows the bacteria to digest the organic load in the effluent more efficiently.

What are the benefits of choosing the EnergyCell Anaerobic MBBR reactor?

A company that chooses Anaerobic MBBR technology pursues a path of circularity, achieving clear benefits not only economically, but also environmentally. In fact, industrial waste is not only not ‘thrown away’ but is exploited to produce additional energy, which is fed back into the company.

From an engineering point of view, it is an ideal solution for treating high volumes of wastewater in a plant, optimising space compared to other treatment systems, which require much larger surfaces. A sustainable alternative that reduces the organic load in industrial wastewater; the production of energy from biogas becomes a key energy carrier and a sustainable alternative for self-consumption of electricity and heat.

Lower energy demand and lower costs make AnMBBR technology an opportunity and a chance for many companies.

“The AnMBBR reactor represents an efficient and effective solution for transforming the organic load from various industrial wastewater into biogas – says Federico Torretta, Project and Product Manager at Sebigas. “It is a much more resilient system than other reactors, easy to operate, capable of absorbing variations and shock loads in the treated wastewater. Its small footprint makes it an attractive choice for both new installations and existing treatment plant retrofits.”