Article barch series.pdf

United States Environmental Protection Agency

Office of Water Washington, D.C.

EPA 832-F-99-073 September 1999

Wastewater Technology Fact Sheet Sequencing Batch Reactors
DESCRIPTION The sequencing batch reactor (SBR) is a fill-anddraw activated sludge system for wastewater treatment. In this system, wastewater is added to a single “batch” reactor, treated to remove undesirablecomponents, and then discharged. Equalization, aeration, and clarification can all be achieved using a single batch reactor. To optimize the performance of the system, two or more batch reactors are used in a predetermined sequence of operations. SBR systems have been successfully used to treat both municipal and industrial wastewater. They are uniquely suited for wastewater treatment applicationscharacterized by low or intermittent flow conditions. Fill-and-draw batch processes similar to the SBR are not a recent development as commonly thought. Between 1914 and 1920, several full-scale fill-anddraw systems were in operation. Interest in SBRs was revived in the late 1950s and early 1960s, with the development of new equipment and technology. Improvements in aeration devices and controls haveallowed SBRs to successfully compete with conventional activated sludge systems. The unit processes of the SBR and conventional activated sludge systems are the same. A 1983 U.S. EPA report, summarized this by stating that “the SBR is no more than an activated sludge system which operates in time rather than in space.” The difference between the two technologies is that the SBR performs equalization,biological treatment, and secondary clarification in a single tank using a timed control sequence. This type of reactor does, in some cases, also perform primary clarification. In a conventional activated sludge system, these unit processes would be accomplished by using separate tanks. A modified version of the SBR is the Intermittent Cycle Extended Aeration System (ICEAS). In the ICEAS system,influent wastewater flows into the reactor on a continuous basis. As such, this is not a true batch reactor, as is the conventional SBR. A baffle wall may be used in the ICEAS to buffer this continuous inflow. The design configurations of the ICEAS and the SBR are otherwise very similar. Description of a Wastewater Treatment Plant Using an SBR A typical process flow schematic for a municipalwastewater treatment plant using an SBR is shown in Figure 1. Influent wastewater generally passes through screens and grit removal prior to the SBR. The wastewater then enters a partially filled reactor, containing biomass, which is acclimated to the wastewater constituents during preceding cycles. Once the reactor is full, it behaves like a conventional activated sludge system, but without acontinuous influent or effluent flow. The aeration and mixing is discontinued after the biological reactions are complete, the biomass settles, and the treated supernatant is removed. Excess biomass is wasted at any time during the cycle. Frequent wasting results in holding the mass ratio of influent substrate to biomass nearly constant from cycle to cycle. Continuous flow systems hold the mass ratio ofinfluent substrate to biomass constant by adjusting return activated sludge flowrates continually as influent flowrates, characteristics, and settling tank underflow concentrations vary. After the SBR, the “batch” of wastewater may flow to an equalization basin where the wastewater flowrate to

additional unit processed can be is controlled at a determined rate. In some cases the wastewater isfiltered to remove additional solids and then disinfected. As illustrated in Figure 1, the solids handling system may consist of a thickener and an aerobic digester. With SBRs there is no need for return activated sludge (RAS) pumps and primary sludge (PS) pumps like those associated with conventional activated sludge systems. With the SBR, there is typically only one sludge to handle. The need...