UNIVERSITY OF NAIROBI

NAME: SARA ISSAIAH RANDO

REG NO: F21/4021/2019
DEPARTMENT: ENVIRONMENTAL AND BIOSYSTEMS
ENGINEERING
TITLE: DESIGN OF A MOVING BED BIOFILM REACTOR
(MBBR) BIODIGESTER FOR KILIFI TOWN
DATE: 23/10/2023

Supervisor’s Name: Mrs. Caroline Ingati

Signature:
Problem statement

Currently, Kilifi Town does not have a sewage treatment system. The town uses on-plot
sanitation systems such as septic tanks and pit latrines for effluent disposal. The main issue is
that there isn’t a suitable sludge management system in place, either an exhaust vacuum tanker
discharge system or a sludge handling facility for the septage. Septic tank septage is thereby
released into the surrounding environment. These on-plot sanitation systems are bound to cause
health and environmental hazards thus in order to meet the sanitation needs of the growing
population, there is need for the development of a waste-water treatment plant. A moving bed
bio-film reactor bio-digester requires minimal space and uses lesser energy compared to the
other technologies used in waste-water treatment. To efficiently treat organic waste, such as
sewage and agricultural residues, while minimizing operational costs as well as environmental
impact, designing a moving bed biofilm reactor bio-digester is the solution. The bio-digester
maximizes biogas production, reduces the organic load, and ensures the proper treatment of
effluents, all within the constraints of space, budget and environmental regulations.

Objectives

Overall objective

To design a waste-water treatment plant in Kilifi town using the moving bed biofilm reactor
technology.

Specific objectives

 To determine the inflow capacity of the waste-water.

 To determine the quality of waste-water, the BOD and COD of the waste-water.
 To design an anaerobic reaction tank that will pre-treat the influent waste-water.
 To design the aerobic system that will ensure the treatment of the waste-water to the
required discharge standards.
 To design a chlorine tank that will disinfect the clear-water before it is released.

This project aims to:

  Help in water scarcity due to water reuse.
 Reduce the space required for waste water treatment plants since it requires a smaller
space compared to other systems.
 Improve efficiency in waste water treatment and decrease the energy consumption.

Literature Review

Wastewater treatment is a process which removes and eliminates contaminants from wastewater
and converts it into an effluent that can be returned to the water cycle. The processes that are
commonly used in wastewater treatment include phase separation, biological and phase
separation. The main by-product of wastewater treatment is sludge which may or may not be
treated in the same plant. Treated wastewater may be reused as reclaimed water.

Technologies used in wastewater treatment include; activated sludge process, diffused aeration,
lagoon aeration, filter backwash, membrane bioreactors, sequencing batch reactor, moving bed
biofilm reactor and anaerobic digestion etc. These technologies have their advantages as well as
their disadvantages but the focus is on the MBBR technology.

Moving bed biofilm reactor (MBBR) is a type of wastewater treatment process which uses
thousands of polyethylene biofilm carriers moving in a mixed manner inside an aerated
wastewater treatment basin. By offering a covered surface area for the growth of both
autotrophic and heterotrophic bacteria within its cells, each unique bio-carrier boosts
productivity. This high density population of bacteria provides process reliability and ease of
operation, as well as high-rate biodegradation within the system. The MBBR technology allows
for the self-maintenance of an optimal level of productive biofilm, hence offering a cost effective
treatment with minimal maintenance. Furthermore, the biofilm affixed to the system’s mobile
bio-carriers reacts automatically to variations in load.

References

Frankel, Tom (2019-11-21). “What is MBBR Wastewater Treatment & How does it work?”

Borkar R.P, Gulhane, and Kotangale A.J, Moving Bed Bio-Film Reactor – A new perspective in
Wastewater Treatment. (11/12/2013)