4.2 Rotatating Biologial Contactor RBC

AMJ41703
Advanced Wastewater Engineering

Che Zulzikrami Azner Abidin (PhD, PTech, AMIChemE)
zulzikrami@unimap.edu.my
Type of Biological Processes
Suspended
Attached Growth (or Biofilm)
Growth
Processes
Processes
Rotating
Trickling Filter Biological
(TF) Contactor
(RBC)
AMJ41703 Advanced Wastewater Engineering 2

Rotating Biological
Contactors (RBC)

TF: moving wastewater
passes over stationary rock
/ packing media
RBC: moving media

passes through the
stationary wastewater
• Series of closely spaced polystyrene / polyvinyl chloride circular disks on
horizontal shaft constitute RBC unit
• Standard RBC unit includes
• 3.5 m dia. disks with total disk area of 9,300 m2/unit to support microbial film
• shaft of 8.23 m length (of this 7.23 m is occupied by disks)
• RBC unit is placed in a 45 m3 capacity tank
• shaft orientation is either perpendicular to / or parallel to wastewater flow

• Discs serve several purposes:
• provide media for buildup of attached microbial growth.
• bring growth into contact with wastewater.
• aerate wastewater and suspended microbial growth in reservoir.
• RBC unit is usually provided with an enclosure

• prevents algal growth
• discs are protected from sunlight (UV light)
• prevents heat loss and exposure to cold weather

Organics O2
Liquid Film
Biomass
Media
(disc) Oxygen

Liquid Film
O2
Organics
Biomass
Media (disc)
RBC Components
Contactor
Discs
Shaft
Individual Disc
Media
HDPE

Media – Irregular Surface
• Maintain spacing
• Increases rigidity
• Increases surface area
• Increases contact time
Media – Irregular Surface
Corrugated

Dimpled

Containment

Just Large Enough
• Good Contact
• Minimal Short Circuiting
• Good Mixing
Train
Usually more than 1 contactor with

flow progressing in series in a
TRAIN AMJ41703 Advanced Wastewater Engineering 19
Flow schemes
Parallel to Shaft
Direction of Flow
Perpendicular to Shaft
Contactors may be arranged with flow either parallel or perpendicular to shafts

Train
Small systems – train may be 1 contactor with separations and baffles
Influent
Effluent
Baffles
Larger systems – contactors are set in series in separate
tanks or in 1 tank with enclosure
Enclosure
Effluent
Influent
Baffles

Baffles

Baffles
• Baffles separate each contactor

• Dividing flow in train into separate complete-mixed zones of
treatment
Baffles
• Each zone of treatment is called a STAGE

Baffles
5 stages (zone of treatment)

Influent
2 Trains
5 Stages
1st Stage
Effluent
• When a system has more than 1 train, each zone in system

that receives same loading is considered 1 stage
Staging
100
BOD, mg/L
60
39
25
18
• Staging results in significantly more efficient treatment

Enclosures: Prefabricated covers

Enclosures: Permanent building

RBC
process flow
schematic

How does RBC system work?

Stage
arrangements
and flow
patterns for
RBC

Removal Mechanism
• During rotation, microorganisms and organic content get attached to

disks, and O2 from atmosphere is transferred to wastewater to
maintain aerobic condition.
• Microbes attached to disks surface grow in
form of biological film and consume organic
content in wastes.

• After sometimes, as biofilms thickens, an anaerobic condition
develops nearer to disks surface, then slime layer gets washed out
(sloughing) by incoming wastewater flow.
• Sloughed biofilm is ultimately removed in
secondary clarifier before final disposal of
treated effluent.

• For BOD removal, or nitrification, or both, or for pretreatment of
higher strength industrial effluent.
• Wastewater clarified in primary clarifier or fine screened is fed to
reactor
• 35 – 40% of disc surface is submerged in wastewater maintained in
a 45 m3 tank.
• Disk surface is alternatively brought in contact with wastewater and
atmosphere by rotating at 1 to 1.6 rpm rate either mechanical or
pneumatically.
• Treatment occurs through biosorption of organic matter of
wastewater into biofilm and aerobic biooxidation of sorbed matter
when biofilm is exposed to atmospheric air.
• Biofilm as it thickens and looses its ability to cling to disc surface due
to hydrodynamic shears, sloughs off.
• Number of units may be operated in series to form a process train
• exploit benefits of staged biological reactor design – facilitates
maintaining different conditions in different stages
• For reliability 2 or more parallel flow trains are employed
• 2-4 units in series are used for BOD removal,
•  6 units for combined BOD removal and nitrification

• Simple to operate and involves low energy
costs.
• Performance is related to specific surface
loading of BOD and/or NH4-N
• Related with odor and biofilm sloughing
problems
Advantages • occurs when oxygen demand exceeds
Vs. supply
Disadvantages • sulfur oxidizing bacteria form tenacious

whitish film and prevent sloughing off
• Structural failure of shafts, disks and disk
support systems can occur due to excessive
biofilm growth and sloughing problems cause
it

Design Consideration: Principal element
of RBC
• Disc material and configuration
• HDPE of different configurations or corrugation patterns
• corrugation increases available surface area and enhances
structural stability
• Shaft
• shape is square, round or octagonal
• steel shafts coated for protection against corrosion of 13-30 mm
thickness are used
• Tankage
• requirement is 0.0049 m3/m2 film area
• typical side wall depth is 1.5 m
• Drive system
• mechanical or pneumatic drives are used for shaft rotation,
• mechanical drive capacity is 3.7 or 5.6 kW per unit
• deep plastic cups are attached to perimeter of disks and
compressed air is released into cups for rotation
• air requirement is 5.3 m3/min for standard density shaft and 7.6
m3/min for high density shaft
• Enclosures
• segmented fiberglass reinforced plastic enclosures are used
Example:
𝐹𝑙𝑜𝑤𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑒, 𝑔𝑝𝑑
• Hydraulic loading =
𝑀𝑒𝑑𝑖𝑎 𝑠𝑢𝑟𝑓𝑎𝑐𝑒 𝑎𝑟𝑒𝑎, 𝑓𝑡 2
• Plant flow = 2.4 mgd

• Trains in service = 2
• Contactors in each train = 5
• Baffles between all contactors
• Each contactor surface area = 100,000 ft2 (from manufacturer)
• Primary effluent soluble BOD = 55 mg/L
Baffles
5 stages (zone of treatment)

• Total surface area
= 2 trains X 5 contactors/train X 100,000 ft2/contactor
= 1,000,000 ft2
𝐹𝑙𝑜𝑤𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑒, 𝑔𝑝𝑑
• Hydraulic loading =
𝑀𝑒𝑑𝑖𝑎 𝑠𝑢𝑟𝑓𝑎𝑐𝑒 𝑎𝑟𝑒𝑎, 𝑓𝑡 2
2.4 𝑚𝑔𝑑 × 1,000,000 𝑔𝑎𝑙/𝑚𝑔
=
1,000, 000 𝑓𝑡 2
2,400,000 𝑔𝑝𝑑
=
1,000, 000 𝑓𝑡 2
= 2.4 𝑔𝑝𝑑/𝑓𝑡 2

Thank You

4.2 Rotatating Biologial Contactor RBC

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AMJ41703

Advanced Wastewater Engineering

AMJ41703 Advanced Wastewater Engineering 2

AMJ41703 Advanced Wastewater Engineering 3

RBC: moving media

AMJ41703 Advanced Wastewater Engineering 6

• RBC unit is usually provided with an enclosure

AMJ41703 Advanced Wastewater Engineering 7

AMJ41703 Advanced Wastewater Engineering 8

AMJ41703 Advanced Wastewater Engineering 12

AMJ41703 Advanced Wastewater Engineering 14

AMJ41703 Advanced Wastewater Engineering 15

AMJ41703 Advanced Wastewater Engineering 17

Usually more than 1 contactor with

Contactors may be arranged with flow either parallel or perpendicular to shafts

AMJ41703 Advanced Wastewater Engineering 22

AMJ41703 Advanced Wastewater Engineering 23

• Baffles separate each contactor

• Each zone of treatment is called a STAGE

5 stages (zone of treatment)

• When a system has more than 1 train, each zone in system

• Staging results in significantly more efficient treatment

AMJ41703 Advanced Wastewater Engineering 29

AMJ41703 Advanced Wastewater Engineering 30

AMJ41703 Advanced Wastewater Engineering 32

AMJ41703 Advanced Wastewater Engineering 33

AMJ41703 Advanced Wastewater Engineering 35

• During rotation, microorganisms and organic content get attached to

AMJ41703 Advanced Wastewater Engineering 36

AMJ41703 Advanced Wastewater Engineering 37

AMJ41703 Advanced Wastewater Engineering 39

Disadvantages • sulfur oxidizing bacteria form tenacious

AMJ41703 Advanced Wastewater Engineering 40

• Plant flow = 2.4 mgd

5 stages (zone of treatment)

AMJ41703 Advanced Wastewater Engineering 45

AMJ41703 Advanced Wastewater Engineering 46

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