Moving Bed Bioreactor
MAK Water’s Moving Bed Bioreactor (MBBR) type packaged sewage treatment plants are designed to treat domestic strength sewage, to achieve “Class C” treated effluent, suitable for reuse in “risk category low” applications or for discharge to environment. With the optional “Class A” upgrade, treated effluent suitable for reuse in “risk category medium” applications is achieved.
The standard treatment process includes influent screening, balance tank mixing, aerobic treatment, clarification and effluent disinfection (chlorine tablets). The optional “Class A” upgrade includes an auto-backwashing glass media filter, secondary chlorination via tank recirculation and residual trim hypochlorite dosing, and analysers for online monitoring of treated effluent turbidity, free chlorine and pH.
MAK Water’s MBBR Bioreactors are corrosion resistant, and are self-contained, modular systems for easy deployment to remote locations.





Technical Specifications
Standard Specifications
Parameter | Units | MBBR-125 | MBBR-150 | MBBR-200 | MBBR-250 | MBBR-300 | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Treatment capacity | m3/day | 125 | 150 | 200 | 250 | 300 | |
*1Balance tank volume (recommended) | m3 | 125 | 150 | 200 | 250 | 300 | |
*1Treated effluent tank volume (*2minimum) | m3 | 9 | 11 | 14 | 18 | 21 | |
Sludge tank volume | m3 | 30 | 30 | 50 | 50 | 2 x 30 | |
Thickened sludge waste volume | m3/day | 1.9 | 2.3 | 2.9 | 3.6 | 4.3 | |
*3Irrigation pump duty | m3/hr @ 350 kPa | 10.4 | 12.5 | 16.7 | 20.1 | 25 | |
Ambient temperature (min/max) | °C | 1/43 (-15/50 with optional container insulation) | |||||
Power supply | - | AC 415 V, 3 Phase, 50 Hz | |||||
Power consumption | Class C (max) | kW | 28 | 35 | 40 | 49 | 58 |
Class A (max) | kW | 35 | 41 | 47 | 56 | 65 | |
*3Irrigation pump | kW | 2.2 | 3 | 4 | 5.5 | 5.5 | |
Footprint | FRP bioreactor(s) & access platform(s) | m | 7.4 x 4.2 | 8.8 x 4.2 | 11.4 x 4.2 | 7.4 x 7.6 | 8.8 x 7.6 |
Containerised plant room | m | 6 x 2.4 (ISO 20’) | |||||
Sludge tank(s) | Øm | 4 | 4 | 4.5 | 4.5 | 2 x 4 |
Characteristics | Units | Influent | * 4 Class C effluent | * 4 Class A Effluent |
---|---|---|---|---|
Temperature | °C | 15~35 | - | |
pH | pH units | 6.5~8.5 | 6.5~8.5 | |
Biological oxygen demand (BOD) | mg/L | *5≤350 | <20 | |
Suspended solids (TSS) | mg/L | *5≤350 | <30 | |
Oil & grease | mg/L | <10 | - | |
Total nitrogen (T-N) | mg/L | ≥20 | N/A (no reduction) | |
Total phosphorus (T-P) | mg/L | <16 | 4~12 (variable according to coagulant dose rate) | |
Total dissolved solids (TDS) | mg/L | <2,000 | - | |
Turbidity | NTU | - | N/A | <5 (95%ile) |
E.Coli | cfu/100 mL | - | <1,000 | <10 |
Free chlorine | mg/L | - | 0.2~2 |
*1Sold separately, *2For 15 min.mg/L contact time, *3Optional equipment, *4Based on QLD guidelines, *5Referenced from Metcalf & Eddy (5th edition, 2014), typical composition of untreated domestic wastewater; higher/lower design values available on request.
Technical Specifications
Standard Inclusions and Options
Equipment | MBBR-125 | MBBR-150 | MBBR-200 | MBBR-250 | MBBR-300 | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Automatic inlet screen (2mm) | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ||
Influent mixing pump | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ||
Influent feed pump | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ||
FRP bioreactor(s) with aluminium access platform(s) & ladder(s) | Aerobic zone with floating media & blower | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | |
Clarifier with scum removal system | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ||
Buffer zone/tank with tablet chlorinator | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ||
Bioreactor roofing (COLORBOND® steel sheeting) | o | o | o | o | o | ||
Containerised plant room with air conditioning, overhead lighting & GPOfor maintenance | Chemical dosing – coagulant | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | |
RAS/WAS pump | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ||
Effluent transfer/filter feed (& backwash) pump | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ||
Class A only | Auto-backwashing media filter | o | o | o | o | o | |
Treated effluent tank recirculation pump | o | o | o | o | o | ||
Hypochlorite dosing | o | o | o | o | o | ||
PLC control system with HMI | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ||
Plant room insulation | o | o | o | o | o | ||
Sludge tank with supernatant sampling points & discharge valves | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ||
Supernatant sump with submersible pump & level control | o | o | o | o | o | ||
Irrigation pump with level control & mechanical flow totaliser | o | o | o | o | o | ||
Instrumentation | Standard package | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | |
Premium package with ClearAccess™ remote monitoring | o | o | o | o | o |
Instrumentation & Controls | Standard Package | Premium Package | |
---|---|---|---|
Level switches | Balance tank | ✓ | - |
Sludge tank | ✓ | ✓ | |
Chemical dosing tank(s) | ✓ | ✓ | |
Supernatant sump (optional) | ✓ | ✓ | |
Level transmitters | Balance tank | - | ✓ |
Buffer tank | ✓ | ✓ | |
Treated effluent tank | ✓ | ✓ | |
Flow switches | Effluent transfer pump (Class C) | - | ✓ |
Treated effluent recirculation pump (Class A) | - | ✓ | |
Irrigation pump (optional) | - | ✓ | |
Pressure switches | Balance tank mixing pump | ✓ | ✓ |
Pressure indicators | Balance tank mixing pump | ✓ | ✓ |
Influent feed pump | ✓ | ✓ | |
Blower discharge | ✓ | - | |
RAS/WAS pump | ✓ | ✓ | |
Effluent transfer pump (Class C) | ✓ | ✓ | |
Media filter feed pump (Class A) | ✓ | - | |
Media filter discharge (Class A) | ✓ | - | |
Irrigation pump (optional) | ✓ | ✓ | |
Treated effluent recirculation pump (Class A) | ✓ | ✓ | |
Pressure transmitter | Media filter feed pump (Class A) | - | ✓ |
Media filter discharge (Class A) | - | ✓ | |
Magnetic flow transmitter | Influent feed pump | ✓ | ✓ |
Mechanical flow totaliser | Irrigation pump (optional) | ✓ | ✓ |
Free chlorine and pH analyser (Class A) | ✓ | ✓ | |
Turbidity analyser (Class A) | ✓ | ✓ | |
ClearAccess™ remote monitoring & control capabilities | - | ✓ |
Applications
Real-world examples
Sewage Treatment for Train Maintenance Facility
As part of establishing a train servicing and provisioning facility in Nebo (regional Queensland, Australia) Pacific National, the facility owner, required a reliable and cost-effective means of treating wastewater for reuse. One of the main challenges on this site was the limited access to water and it was important to reuse water wherever possible, and to ensure environmental discharges were properly treated to meet license conditions.
Nebo, Queensland

Sewage Treatment for Iron Ore Mine
Roy Hill is an integrated iron ore mining, rail and port operation. The mine is located in Pilbara region of Western Australia and the ore is exported through a purpose built iron ore port facility at Port Hedland. MAK Water was engaged by the Engineering, Procurement, Construction (EPC) contractor to design and construct the wastewater/sewage treatment plant for the mine site’s non-process infrastructure area. The plant was constructed according to project engineering and design specifications, using project preferred electrical equipment, and supplied with site specific vendor drawing and data package. MAK Water provided site installation supervision and commissioning of the plant.
Nebo, Queensland

Sewage Treatment Plant for Holiday Park
After a series of problems with its existing sewage treatment plant a large national operator of holiday parks decided to replace the plant in Batemans Bay, NSW. The plant was required to treat deal with a very high nutrient level and treat it to meet the strict site environmental license for discharge to the environment via irrigation. Considering this was a coastal location with high corrosion issues, MAK Water delivered an innovative sewage treatment plant built from FRP to replace the steel fabricated plant that had rusted out. The plant was designed, built and tested in MAK Water’s workshop and delivered to site with detailed installation instructions and drawings, simplifying the installation for the customer’s preferred contractor. The MAK Water team traveled to site to undertake the commissioning of the plant.
Batemans Bay, New South Wales

MAK Water worked cooperatively with the client’s engineering consultant throughout the scoping and feasibility study phases and was awarded the contract to supply the potable water and sewage treatment plants for the accommodation camp and the process plant.
Laverton, Western Australia

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