Anaerobic waste water purification is a biological process for purifying industrial waste water in the absence of atmospheric oxygen. In accordance with the natural process that takes place in sediments of rivers and lakes, the process converts solute organic substances into non-toxic methane (CH₄) and carbon dioxide (CO₂) in several stages. This is the major difference from the activated sludge process widely used in biological waste water purification, in which decomposition takes place aerobically (oxygen is supplied, yielding CO₂ and H₂O).

The process offers decisive benefits, particularly for (partial) waste water flows containing high levels of organic pollution:

• Energy yield through production of biogas
• Minimum secondary sludge production
• No ventilation requiring intensive energy input
• Odor-free
• Compact
• Also suitable for waste water containing volatile or foaming substances
• Also suitable for waste water with low nitrogen levels.

The principal applications for anaerobic waste water purification are in dealing with full or partial flows of waste water containing high levels of biodegradable organic pollutants. Such waste water is produced in particular by the foodstuffs processing, animal feed and paper industries. However, it is also possible to purify waste water from other industries such as pharmaceuticals (in some cases after physical or chemical pretreatment).

BIO-SYSTEM and BI-UTEC possess extensive experience and have developed specialized microorganisms for even special applications. Our staff (engineers, biologists and physicists) are skilled in planning and engineering so we can guarantee you a reliable and economical solution for your problem.

Compact anaerobic waste water treatment plant
We have recently developed a compact anaerobic waste water treatment plant (patent pending). With this plant, we can now also purify small volumes of waste water in an anaerobically managed process. The entire plant is installed in a standard container. The water flows through the reactor in a loop, thereby making it possible to divide the reactor compartment into the functional units of pre-acidification and methane production. This allows the process management to be optimally adapted to a very wide range of compositions of waste water