Case study: MBR technology for digestate treatment in a biogas plant in Italy

Welcome to the third edition of Hydrotech Engineering's newsletter, where we showcase cutting-edge solutions for water and wastewater treatment and recovery. This edition focuses on a specific case study: MBR technology for the digestate treatment in a biogas plant in Italy.

MBR ( Membrane Bioreactor) technology: the optimal process for digestate treatment

Hydrotech Engineering’s team of specialists has developed a specially designed process for digestate treatment called HT-GEST. This is based on the MBR (Membrane Bioreactor) process, which involves a biological reactor combined with an ultrafiltration system and reverse osmosis. The system is customised according to the specific treatment characteristics of the liquid phase as well as the discharge requirements and individual targets of our customer

Discover more about digestate treatment here.

Hydrotech Engineering’s leading MBR technology

Hydrotech Engineering has designed and built over 25 digestate treatment systems. Using state-of-the-art semi-permeable membrane technology, we guarantee the highest quality treated water and ensure it complies with the most stringent environmental regulations for discharge into surface water/soil or for reuse in industrial processes, with a recovery rate of 75/95%.

Benefits of MBR technology

MBR technology for digestate treatment has many advantages over conventional biological processes:

• Highly efficient biological treatment. High MLSS concentration and long SRTs promote the growth of specialised biomass that assimilates organic matter that is not readily biodegradable.
• Nitrogen removal. The long SRT promotes the growth and acclimatisation of nitrifying biomass. Despite the high nitrogen content in the digestate, this type of system is highly efficient in removing it through a combined nitrification/denitrification process.
• Superior effluent quality for discharge or reuse. UF membranes are a physical barrier for suspended and colloidal matter, resulting in a high-quality permeate that is free of solids, turbidity and pathogens. Through subsequent treatment with Reverse Osmosis it is possible to recover some of the water and reuse it for industrial purposes.
• Robustness and flexibility with respect to the complex composition of digestate. The removal of COD and nitrogen is effective and stable, even with great variability in digestate composition. Filtration conditions are easily adaptable to fluctuations in the effluent, ensuring stable operation under all circumstances.
• Compactness. External MBRs are one of the most compact technologies for digestate treatment, requiring minimal bioreactor volume and a plug-and-play modular UF system.

Read our white paper about MBR technology for digestate treatment here.

Case Study: turnkey plant with MBR? technology for digestate treatment

The challenges

• Performances (Guarantees for stable performances measured across years)
• Cost savings

The drivers

• Decrease environmental burden
• New source of revenue & resource management

The solution

• BIO (Bioreactor) + UF (Ultrafiltration) + MULTISTAGES RO (Reverse Osmosis) + SC (Superconcentration) guaranteed 75%-95% recovery

Plant details

Industry: Biogas

Location: Italy

Application: Digestate treatment

Feed water: Wastewater

Plant capacity: 150 m3/day

Technologies: MBR Technology - Superconcentration

Start-up date: April 2023

Contract model: Design Build

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