BioHAR® Membrane Bioreactor is a combination of an activated sludge biological system and an ultrafiltration system, for an optimal removal of organic contaminants in waste streams.

Depending on the effluent characteristic and on the customer needs HAR is able to supply two different bioHAR® configurations: sidestream and submerged. In sidestream configuration the membrane module is a separate unit and the sludge is continuously recirculated in the reactor, in submerged configuration the membrane module is placed in the activated sludge tank and the driving force is a negative pressure on permeate side. In membrane bioreactor the biodegradable substances are eliminated and, if necessary, ammonia and nitrogen-based compounds can be removed.

The ultra filtration system replaces the conventional phase of sedimentation by gravity, enables the recirculation and retention of the biological sludge in the oxidation tank keeping a higher concentration (20 - 25 g/l) than in the conventional biological systems. The Ultrafiltration membrane, being an absolute barrier for the sludge, is also avoiding the entrainment of sludge in the treated effluent, trouble that often occur in the traditional settling tanks because of bulking phenomena.

bioHAR® membrane bioreactor is an high efficiency step of “zero discharge water recycling” system and it is important to make the effluent suitable for a further treatment through reverse osmosis process.

The advantages of bioHAR can be summarized as follows:

	Elimination of the settling tank and high quality of the treated effluent
	High efficiency for the removal of organic load due to high biomass concentration and retention of high molecular weight compounds
	Reduced production of sludge, due to autolysis phenomena caused by the high concentration of the biomass
	Increase of tolerance of normally toxic substances for a biological system, due to the high ratio biomass/toxic
	Small footprint
	Low operating costs
	High chemical resistance

HAR can be integrated with other systems to reach “zero discharge total water reuse” according to
the following drawing: