Start with the way biomass is separated
In a conventional activated sludge plant, a clarifier separates water and biomass by gravity. In an MBR conversion, the membrane performs this separation and the retentate returns to the biological process. The functional arrangement is a biological reactor, a mixed-liquor feed to UltraFlux™, permeate sent to its destination and retentate returned to the reactor, together with controlled waste sludge removal.
This approach addresses solids escaping into the final effluent or a secondary separation stage that constrains operation. It also creates a route towards higher-quality water for subsequent reuse treatment. Filtering only previously settled effluent is a different application: tertiary UF improves that effluent but does not, on its own, turn the biological reactor into an MBR.
Buried tanks, difficult layouts and SBR processes
External installation allows the membrane equipment to occupy an accessible service area connected to the existing tank by pipework. Reactor depth, a tank cover or a lack of internal installation space therefore need not dictate where filtration is located. A layout study should reserve room for the equipment, maintenance access, auxiliaries, cleaning and planned expansion.
For a sequencing batch reactor, adding membranes changes how treated water is withdrawn. Review the entire operating cycle: feed, reaction, filtration periods, tank levels, sludge wasting and any anoxic phases. A revised sequence can use the existing vessel while preserving the conditions and reaction time required by the biology. Assess filtration capacity and buffer storage against the actual flow pattern across the production day.
Information that turns an opportunity into a proposal
A concise project dossier makes equipment selection more productive. Alongside average flow, record peaks, production hours and variations caused by batches or factory cleaning. Reactor drawings and connection elevations help define feed and return pipework before choosing a skid location. Photographs of access routes can also establish how equipment will be delivered and serviced.
| Plant information | Decision it supports |
|---|---|
| Flows and operating hours | Net production, buffering and filtration sequence |
| Mixed-liquor TSS, temperature, oils and fibres | Pretreatment and test conditions |
| Total and soluble COD, nutrients and oxygen | Review of biological treatment capacity |
| Drawings, access and utilities | Layout, maintenance and connections |
| Permeate quality target and destination | Downstream treatment and acceptance |
Give the UltraFlux™ integration a clear scope
UltraFlux™ filters outside-in, from the outside of the fibre into its lumen. Its external MBR application is developed around the project's mixed liquor, required net production and cleaning conditions. Neptuno can define UltraFlux™ and its auxiliaries while coordinating the connection points with the engineering team responsible for the plant.
Adaptation of the biological process, aeration and overall wastewater plant control is developed with the customer's engineering team. The execution plan should explain how treatment continues during the works, how returns and alarms are tested, and which measurements demonstrate acceptable operation. These inputs make an external MBR proposal a practical upgrade to an existing asset, with a clear route from installation to commissioning.