Customer RFQ: Off-Grid MBBR Sewage System for Bariloche
What we received: on 11 November 2026 a customer issued a formal request for quotation for a complete off-grid integrated sewage treatment system in Bariloche, Argentina. What is being asked: a packaged MBBR plant rated 90 m³/d (two 45 m³/d modules) with a 120 m³ buried equalization tank, fine screening, grease separation, UV disinfection and irrigation reuse — sized to absorb 4,000-person event peaks on top of a 900-person daily base load. Where the project stands: this is an enquiry and quotation stage. No contract has been signed, no equipment has been built or delivered, and no performance figures exist for this project. What we are doing: preparing a technical response to the peak-load and equalization requirements, which are the part of this brief that decides whether the plant works or fails.
What the Customer Asked For
The site has no connection to a municipal sewer, so the system has to run as a self-contained plant 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The daily base load is about 900 people over 10 hours, including roughly 100 showers per day. On top of that, three days each week a three-hour event adds about 4,000 extra people — and the brief is explicit that this peak overlaps the base load rather than replacing it. The resulting design figures are 99 m³ per day, 501 m³ per week, and an instantaneous peak inflow of 40 m³ per hour sustained for three hours. Treated effluent is to be reused for irrigation.
Two instructions in the enquiry shape the whole engineering response. First, the main biological stage must be MBBR, not MBR: the client wants the tolerance to short, repeated shock loads and the lower energy and maintenance burden that a biofilm process gives. Our earlier work on an integrated MBR sewage treatment unit covers the membrane-based alternative, and the trade-offs between the two are exactly what this client has already weighed. Second, the peak must be shaved by the equalization tank, not absorbed by oversizing the biology: the 120 m³ buried equalization tank with a mixer and level sensors is described as the most critical single item, and the brief warns against scaling the biological train to the 4,000-person peak or rounding the plant up to 99 m³/d.
The client also requires a 10 m³ lift station with two submersible pumps on a duty-standby arrangement, a fine screen rated 40 m³/h with 5 mm gaps, a 5 m³ grease trap reserved for kitchen wastewater, a 15 m³ sludge holding tank emptied by vacuum truck about once a month, and a 30 m³ treated-water storage tank so irrigation can draw from storage rather than directly from the plant.
Why the Equalization Tank and MBBR Decide This Project
A three-hour inflow of 40 m³/h delivers 120 m³ — the entire contents of the equalization tank — while the biological stage can only treat at its design rate. That is precisely why the client fixed the tank at 120 m³ and why the mixer is not optional: unmixed sewage turns septic within roughly a day, and septic influent both smells and interferes with the biology downstream. The tank converts a violent hourly profile into a steady feed the MBBR modules can process around the clock, which is what lets two 45 m³/d modules cover a 99 m³/d design day with event peaks on top.
MBBR suits this pattern because the biofilm growing on the carrier media tolerates short-term overload far better than a membrane tank, and it keeps power draw and maintenance simple — important where the site is off-grid and the power supply has to be engineered separately. The client asks bidders to state explicitly how the plant rides through three three-hour peaks per week, and our answer will centre on the equalization volume, the screen capacity and the duty-standby pumping rather than on extra biology. Remote monitoring is a stated requirement for the PLC control cabinet, and our remote monitoring platform for water treatment plants is the system we would connect this plant to, so operating data can be checked without a technician on site.
UV disinfection is specified ahead of chlorination, and the reasoning is sound for a cold-climate site: chlorine chemistry slows down at low water temperatures and residual control becomes awkward, while UV performance does not depend on water temperature. A chlorine backup may be quoted as a separate option, as the client invites, but the base design is UV to a 30 m³ storage tank.
Technical Specifications: Equipment Scope Under Quotation
The client asks for a complete, integrated quotation rather than loose single machines, covering supply, installation, commissioning and one year of operational training. The table below summarises the scope as issued in the enquiry. These are the customer's stated requirements at the enquiry stage, not delivered equipment and not guaranteed results.
| Unit | Specification requested | Purpose in the train |
|---|---|---|
| Packaged MBBR plant | 90 m³/d as 2 × 45 m³/d modules | Main biological treatment, shock-load tolerant |
| Equalization tank | 120 m³, buried, with mixer and level sensors | Peak shaving for 40 m³/h event inflows |
| Lift station | 10 m³, two submersible pumps, duty + standby | Raises sewage to the equalization tank |
| Fine screen | 40 m³/h capacity, 5 mm gaps | Blocks wipes and solids during events |
| Grease trap | 5 m³, kitchen wastewater only | Keeps fats and oils out of the MBBR |
| Sludge holding tank | 15 m³ | Buffers sludge for about monthly vacuum truck removal |
| UV disinfection | Sized for 90 m³/d, irrigation reuse standard | Cold-climate-stable disinfection before storage |
| Treated water tank | 30 m³ | Stores effluent for night-time irrigation |
| Blowers / aeration | Two blowers, duty + standby, in MBBR scope | Continuous aeration with redundancy |
| Control panel / PLC | Remote monitoring, 7 × 24 continuous duty | Automatic operation and alarms without on-site staff |
Hydraulic calculations for the equalization tank — retention versus the peak profile, and the pumping configuration out of the tank — are the specific technical response the client has asked every bidder to document.
Key Features and Benefits of the Requested Configuration
Peak-shaving before biology: the 120 m³ tank absorbs each 3-hour event, so two 45 m³/d MBBR modules run against a steady load instead of a 40 m³/h surge.
Redundancy where failure hurts: duty-standby submersible pumps and duty-standby blowers keep the plant alive through single-equipment faults during an event.
Screening matched to events: the 40 m³/h fine screen is sized for peak flow, so wipes and paper cannot blind the plant on the first busy weekend.
Kitchen wastewater separated at source: the 5 m³ grease trap protects the biofilm from fats that would coat the carriers.
Cold-climate disinfection: UV before a 30 m³ storage tank gives stable, chemical-free disinfection for irrigation regardless of water temperature.
What Baihuipu Brings to an Off-Grid Export Project
Baihuipu builds water and wastewater treatment equipment in its own factory, so a packaged plant of this kind is engineered, fabricated, trial-assembled and control-wired by one team before it ships. For an off-grid site in Patagonia that matters in a concrete way: every pump, blower, screen and instrument has to arrive matched to the PLC, because there is no local integrator to reconcile mismatches after delivery. We supply whole systems — screening, pumping, equalization, biological treatment, disinfection, storage and controls — rather than isolated units, and our engineering team prepares export packing, shipping documentation and commissioning guidance for industrial clients in multiple countries. Recent overseas deliveries, such as the 50 TPD wastewater plant equipment unloading in Mongolia, follow the same working pattern this enquiry requires. Spare parts and after-sales support come from the same factory that built the plant, and the quotation will state power consumption, consumables, sludge output and suggested removal logistics as the client asks.
The photographs in this article show typical Baihuipu equipment and completed plants of the type discussed. They are reference images, not photographs of the enquiry site; the Bariloche project is at the enquiry and quotation stage and no equipment has been produced for it.
Customer FAQs
Has this Bariloche system been built, delivered or commissioned? No. We received a request for quotation on 11 November 2026 and are preparing a technical and commercial response. There is no contract, no production order and no site work at this stage.
Why MBBR instead of MBR for this project? The client set the process route themselves. A biofilm process tolerates short, repeated overload better, uses less power and needs simpler maintenance than a membrane tank — relevant when 4,000 extra people arrive for three hours three times a week. For applications where membrane effluent quality is the priority, our MBR plus NF/RO leachate treatment project shows where we apply that route instead.
How can two 45 m³/d modules handle a 99 m³/d day with event peaks? By design, the biology never sees the peak. The 120 m³ equalization tank receives the 40 m³/h surge and releases it to the MBBR modules at a steady rate across the remaining hours, which is why the brief calls the tank the most critical single item and requires its mixer and level sensors.
What is included in the quotation scope? As requested: complete equipment supply, installation, commissioning and one year of operational training, with unit prices, total price, currency, trade terms such as EXW, FOB, CIF or DDP, delivery time and warranty stated separately.
What does Baihuipu need to finalise the technical proposal? The client has offered to supply influent data, the applicable irrigation reuse standard and site conditions. Confirming those, together with the off-grid power source, lets us complete the equalization and pumping calculations and the power load list. Similar overseas plant quotations are covered in our overseas EPC wastewater plant project note.
Why Choose Baihuipu as Your Manufacturer
Baihuipu is a water treatment equipment manufacturer with its own production factory and more than 20 years in the industry. We supply complete systems — screening, pumping, equalization, biological treatment, disinfection, storage and PLC control — so one engineering team carries the design from the first hydraulic calculation through fabrication, export packing and site handover. That matters on off-grid export projects, where equipment must arrive mutually matched and start up with a power supply the site has to generate or size itself. Our teams support equipment deliveries to industrial clients across multiple export markets and work to documented quality and certification procedures. Spare parts and after-sales technical support are provided from the same factory that built the equipment.
WhatsApp: +86 13631765076
To request a technical proposal for an off-grid or packaged sewage treatment system, please send your daily and peak flow profile, the raw sewage characteristics, the target reuse or discharge standard, site and power conditions, and the project location. Our engineering team will reply with a configuration outline and the information needed for a firm quotation.
