Pharmaceutical Industry

With experience delivering economic wastewater process technology to the pharmaceutical industry for nearly a decade, Headworks BIO enables pharmaceutical manufacturers to cost-effectively meet stringent regulatory discharge standards while maintaining focus on their core business.

Facing stringent discharge standards under the EPA Clean Water Act, pharmaceutical manufacturers increasingly rely on Headworks BIO Moving Bed Biofilm Reactor (MBBR) for reduction of target organics including acetone, isopropyl alcohol (IPA), benzene, MIBK, THF, and chlorobenzene.

Many organic solvents commonly used in the pharmaceutical industry are biodegradable and can be economically treated via the MBBR process. Resilient to process fluctuations and designed for automated operation, MBBR technology delivers highly efficient wastewater process capabilities optimized for the unique needs of the pharmaceutical industry.

Integrating conventional aerated biological treatment with MBBR technology, this unique combination achieves high-rate biodegradation of organic matter within a compact, economically operated system. MBBR biocarriers establish a high-density population of bacteria within the process; this bacteria naturally oxidizes organic wastewater constituents, reliably biodegrading target constituents from process wastewater streams prior to discharge.

Unlike MBBR, conventional biological processes cannot sustain sufficient HRT (hours retention time; the number of hours water is retained in the treatment process) for biodegradation of targeted pharmaceutical constituents. Also unlike MBBR, physical/chemical processes are not economic for pharmaceutical applications due to the high operational costs driven by chemical consumption over the lifecycle of the system.

MBBR wastewater process systems offer several unique advantages to the pharmaceutical industry:
 

• Compact design offering excellent land-use or facility-space efficiency
• Resilient biofilm carrier process is highly resistant to influent fluctuations
• Operator Friendly
• Process optimization prior to installation via Headworks BIO testing services
• Economically meets application-specific effluent discharge requirements