The MBR Tradeoff
If you’ve worked with MBR (Membrane Bioreactor) systems, you already know the deal. The water quality is fantastic, but the process has a real appetite for electricity. MBR combines biological treatment with membrane based solid liquid separation, and it works well. The tradeoff is that it needs constant aeration to keep the biology running, along with regular air scrubbing to stop the membrane from fouling. Keeping air flowing that consistently is not cheap, in energy or in cost.
So the question worth asking is simple. Can the same results be achieved with less power?
Enter MABR
This is where MABR (Membrane Aerated Biofilm Reactor) comes in. Rather than bubbling air through the water in the traditional way, MABR delivers low pressure air directly through a membrane into a biofilm. Oxygen gets used far more efficiently than with conventional diffused aeration, and that efficiency translates into real energy savings.
There is a practical bonus as well. MABR modules can often be installed into existing tanks, which means capacity can be expanded without building new infrastructure.
Where NAGASEP Comes In
Our silicone hollow fiber membranes are built for exactly this kind of work. Air or oxygen supplied through the inside of the fiber permeates outward through the membrane wall, reaching the biofilm where it is needed. Silicone rubber’s naturally high gas permeability makes it well suited to MABR, allowing oxygen to reach the biofilm on the membrane surface directly and efficiently.
We recently demonstrated this in practice as well. Our silicone hollow fiber aeration device was on display at InterAqua.
What About OxyMem™?
Anyone familiar with commercial MABR has likely heard of OxyMem™, the system developed by DuPont. It uses non porous PDMS, or silicone, hollow fiber membranes, and some specifications around materials and dimensions are public. But based on what is publicly available, OxyMem™ is sold as a complete package, a full system built from many pre configured modules, rather than a service built around customizing individual membranes or modules.
Where We Fit: Research First Flexibility
We are not offering a plug and play MABR system like OxyMem™, at least not yet. What we do offer is flexibility. If a project calls for a specific fiber diameter, a particular module length or fiber count, or a custom module shape, we can tailor the membrane and module specifications to what the research actually needs.
That is the role we want to play. We aim to give universities, research institutions and equipment makers the raw materials, quite literally, to explore MABR fundamentals, run pilot trials and build the next generation of modules.
