SBR (Sequencing Batch Reactor)
- 1. Waste water transport into biological treatment chamber 2. Specific amount of treated waste water leaves treatment chamber 3. Rest mud transferred back into first chamber for mechanical pretreatment
During the SBR process, all necessary steps used in the biological purification of the sewage occur in a predetermined sequence in the same chamber. This process, also often used in communal units, is used in a way that results in maximum purification performance day by day, 365 days a year. An important influence on performance is the advanced control technology. The more exact the aeration intervals can be controlled during this purification process, the better are the waste water measurement values, even when decomposting nitrogen, which is not a legal requirement at the moment in most countries.
While there are several configurations of SBRs the basic process is similar. The installation consists of at least two identically equipped tanks with a common inlet, which can be switched between them. The tanks have a "flow through" system, with raw wastewater (influent) coming in at one end and treated water (effluent) flowing out the other. While one tank is in settle/decant mode the other is aerating and filling.
At the inlet is a section of the tank known as the bio-selector. This consists of a series of walls or baffles which direct the flow either from side to side of the tank or under and over consecutive baffles. This helps to mix the incoming influent and the returned activated sludge, beginning the biological digestion process before the liquor enters the main part of the tank.
