Rotating Biological Contactor

Presented By,
Samuel Rebello
Methods of Sewage Treatment
 Conventional Treatment.
 Non- Conventional Treatment Methods.
 Disadvantages of conventional
systems
 Retrofit or replacement of piping is labor and resource
intensive.
 No alternatives in the event of a disaster.
 Is not easily adaptable to new technologies or to varying
scales.
 Does not promote water conservation.
 Intensive use of chemicals in the treatment process.
 Recycling of nutrients and reuse of water is not
optimized.
 Water quality benefits are inconclusive.
 High capital and maintenance cost for plants and
supporting infrastructure.
Rotating Biological Contactors
(RBC)
 Simple in design.
 Easy to operate.
 Compacted design.
 Modification and
upgradation
possible.
 Low operating and
installation costs.
 Rotating Biological Contactors (RBC’s) are
mechanical secondary treatment systems,
which are robust and capable of
withstanding surges in organic load.
RBC's were first installed in Germany in
1960 and have since been developed and
refined into a reliable operating unit.
Basic Design
• An RBC unit comprises a series
of closely spaced "circular disks"
normally made from a plastic
material. The disks are partially
submerged in the sewage and
are slowly rotated through it.

• The rotating disks support the

growth of bacteria and micro-
organisms present in the
sewage, which breakdown and
stabilise organic pollutants. To
be successful, micro-organisms
need both oxygen to live and
food grow. Oxygen is obtained
from the atmosphere as the disks
rotate. As the micro-organisms
grow, they build up on the media
until they are sloughed off due to
shear forces provided by the
rotating discs in the sewage.
 General Considerations
 Treatment required  Major equipments
 Applicability 1) Shaft
 Process selection 2) Media
 Influent and outflow 3) Drive system
water characteristics
 Organic and hydraulic
loading
 Pretreatment
Design Criteria
 Unit sizing
 Loading rate
 Staging of units
 Safety factor
 Secondary clarification
Thank You