UOP XCeedTM Bioreactor Technology:
Specialty Chemicals Application
UOP’s XCeed bioreactor technology is an enabling process for bulk treatment of
contaminants in a variety of applications and diverse waste streams. Specialty
chemical wastewater streams are plagued with residual organics, including
aromatics, amines and various derivatives. UOP’s XCeed bioreactor technology
can be employed for bulk treatment as well as in polishing and reuse applications.
The system’s compartmentalized plug-flow design and sophisticated biological
population lead to highly efficient treatment with low sludge generation, low
operational and maintenance costs, and low component replacement costs.
UOP’s XCeed bioreactor technology has been incorporated in several specialty
chemical applications to meet regulatory discharge requirements.
Customer Challenge:
A specialty chemicals plant in Castanea, Pennsylvania manufactures a wide-range
of chemicals, including:
• Dye intermediates
• Phenol derivatives
• Aniline
• Chlorobenzene
Key Features
• Low energy demand resulting in lower
operating and maintenance costs than
alternative systems
• Generates 70-80% less waste solids
relative to membrane bioreactors
(MBRs), and up to 60-70% less waste
solids than moving bed bioreactors
• Nitrobenzene
• Nitriles
• Aromatic amines
(MBBRs)
• High effluent quality with low sludge
generation
• Sophisticated lab and analytical capabil-
Due to the batch nature of the production of these chemicals, the wastewater generated
by the plant varies considerably not only in the biological oxygen demand (BOD) strength
ities to ensure efficient and effective
process design for customer solutions
of the wastewater, but also in the organic composition that contributes to the BOD.
• Modular system design offers
The local sewer authority implemented a surcharge requiring the facility to pay a fee when
BOD levels in the discharged wastewater were greater than 300 mg/L. Due to the variability
of the plant's specialty chemicals production, the facility's wastewater BOD concentration
could measure upwards of >10,000 mg/L. Given these conditions, the plant faced
prohibitively high surcharges for disposing of their wastewater to the local sewer and
needed to find a more economical solution.
Solution
The customer conducted an extensive on-site pilot of UOP's XCeed bioreactor technology,
treating actual wastewater generated from the site over a period of months. During this
pilot study, UOP’s XCeed bioreactor system was able to tolerate the wide variability of
organics composition and concentration in the plant's wastewater while maintaining a final
BOD measurement of <300 mg/L.
mechanical simplicity, compact size
and flexible configuration
Results
As a result of the successful pilot study, the customer implemented
a full-scale XCeed bioreactor treatment system at this site,
including up-front equalization tanks and two bioreactor modules,
which operated in parallel to treat the plant's wastewater. The
combination of equalization tanks and the unique plug-flow
characteristics of UOP’s XCeed bioreactor technology resulted in
consistently meeting the BOD surcharge limit and lowering specific
toxic organic constituents such as chloro-benzene, toluene, phenol
and acrylonitrile below the level of detection.
UOP LLC, A Honeywell Company
25 East Algonquin Road
Des Plaines, IL 60017-5017, U.S.A.
Tel: +1-847-391-2000
www.uop.com
© 2015 UOP LLC. All rights reserved.
This information is not to be taken as a warranty or representation for which UOP
assumes legal responsibility nor as permission or recommendation to practice any
patented invention without a license. It is offered solely for your consideration.
UOP6144-4a March 2015