Laminate technology continues its triumphal march
Huber and Microdyn-Nadir cooperate successfully
10.06.2016 – Microdyn-Nadir and Huber have been cooperating sucsessfully. Both companies have analysed and reconsidered their products and have set a new milestone in MBR technology: The goal was to jointly develop the largest MBR module available on the market which carries the membrane laminate technology by Microdyn-Nadir and at the same time is a rotating system. In practice this results in lower operating and investment costs as well as an increase in reliability and packing density. “By combining our two technologies we have created a groundbreaking product symbiosis”, says Walter Lamparter, CEO at Microdyn-Nadir, “I am confident that this will set new standards.”
The VRM system by Huber is a rotating membrane system. The membrane modules are submerged into the activated sludge and are mounted segmentally onto air tubes. The trapezoidal membrane segments are rotated through an air induced flushing stream driven by a filter drive. The rising air bubbles are continuously cleaning the membrane laminate sheets. The cover layer in the interstices of the laminate sheets is removed reliably and therefore fouling can be reduced. Other than that, the energy demand is minimised at the same time.
The trapezoidal membrane segments are bringing the proven Bio-Cel technology developed by Microdyn-Nadir into play. Instead of equipping the trapezoidal segments with a Nadir flat sheet membrane welded onto a plate as before, Huber is now putting their trust into the membrane laminate technology. “We are convinced of the sophisticated and unique membrane laminate technology”, says Dr. Oliver Rong, vice CEO at Huber SE. “We have screened the market over the past years and found Microdyn-Nadir´s laminate technology to be the most reliable and innovative solution for wastewater treatment with membrane bioreactors available on the market. We want to offer the best product to our customers which is what brought us to the idea of the next generation of our VRM membrane systems. By combining our VRM technology with the laminate technology we achieve a higher packing density and therefore an increase in membrane area per module. Moreover, energy demand and costs can be reduced tremendously.”
Bio-Cel technology is the smart combination of the best of two technologies. Not a hollow fiber and not a plate but a hollow sheet. Unlike a plate and frame construction the Bio-Cel is backwashable like a hollow fiber module and at the same time problems such as fiber clogging cannot occur. Moreover, the module can be cleaned mechanically. The smart Mechanical Cleaning Process (MCP) minimises chemical demand or even makes the use of chemicals unnecessary. In addition, the Bio-Cel membrane laminate technology is equipped with a self-healing mechanism which allows the laminate to „heal“ itself in less than 2 minutes. This results in constantly high effluent qualities even in case of damages caused to the membrane.
Huber and Microdyn-Nadir presented their joint masterpiece at Ifat 2016: the VRM system with Bio-Cel mambrane technology (Picture: Huber)
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