---
title: "Pharmaceutical Process Water Management: Strategies for API Reduction and Wastewater Reuse"
description: Learn how Veolia Water Technologies uses innovative MBBR systems to reduce APIs and treat pharmaceutical wastewater sustainably. Discover case studies and advanced treatment technologies.
---

[Blog Belgium](https://blog.veoliawatertechnologies.be)

# [Pharmaceutical Process Water Management: Strategies for API Reduction and Wastewater Reuse](https://blog.veoliawatertechnologies.be/pharmaceutical-process-water-management-strategies-for-api-reduction-and-wastewater-reuse)

 Written by [Admin](https://blog.veoliawatertechnologies.be/author/admin) | Aug 4, 2025, 8:04:27 AM

## **How to Reduce APIs and Reuse Wastewater in Pharmaceutical Industrial Processes**

### **The Goals of HSE Managers for Industrial Wastewater Treatment Plants**

Downstream from the **pharmaceutical industry**, wastewater increasingly needs to be treated to meet discharge limits into surface water bodies.

These effluents often contain organic compounds - such as **COD, nitrogen, phosphorus** - and within the COD, also residual organic molecules from **APIs** (Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients).

Since the first pharma MBBR plant in 1997, [**Veolia’s AnoxKaldnes biological technologies**](https://www.veoliawatertechnologies.be/en/solutions/technologies/anoxkaldnes-mbbr) have evolved far beyond traditional suspended growth activated sludge systems. We’re talking about **MBBR (Moving Bed Biofilm Reactor) - a system using biomass attached to mobile carriers** that are mixed within a biological tank. It’s a **compact** solution, ideal for sites with limited space. MBBR is **suitable for APIs that are moderately or poorly biodegradable.** There are also many upgrades of existing plants using CAS (Conventional Activated Sludge), which have been retrofitted with MBBR sections to improve their efficiency.

**Biological treatment** refers to using **microorganisms** instead of chemical agents - a more sustainable approach, aligned with BAT (Best Available Techniques), for treating biodegradable substances. In some pharmaceutical plants, **MBBR eXeno™ technology** **(Ozone + MBBR)** has been applied as a final **polishing stage to reduce effluent toxicity.**

**Case Study: MBBR at Grindeks for Meldonium Treatment**  
The effluent flow of 200–500 m³/day is very complex in terms of COD (2000–7000 mg/l), nitrogen (100–200 mg/l), total phosphorus (8 mg/l), TSS (50 mg/l), and pH (4–10).

In every new project, the first step involves **analysing composite samples** collected on-site and filtered at 1.6 μm. Sampling frequency depends on the production batch schedule - e.g., two samples per week over four weeks. Then, in our laboratories, we built a scaled **MBBR pilot plant** and ran it for two months. After successful testing, the full-scale plant is built. In Grindeks, the plant consists of five MBBR sections in series to remove COD, nitrogen, phosphorus and phenols - a full setup for nitrification and denitrification.  
In standard biological treatment systems, all aerobic tanks with suspended biomass use the same type of microorganisms. However, **with MBBR compartments, bacteria specialise in removing specific types of contaminants.** The first section removes readily biodegradable COD, followed by sections that target more persistent COD.   
Many other moderately biodegradable compounds have also been effectively treated:  
- Ketoprofen (75% removal with MBBR, only 10% with CAS)  
- Gemfibrozil (73% MBBR, 15% CAS)

For poorly biodegradable compounds:  
- Clofibric Acid (25% MBBR, 8% CAS)  
- Diclofenac (22% MBBR, 4% CAS)

[**Veolia Water Technologies**](https://www.veoliawatertechnologies.be/en/node/5481) complements its pharmaceutical wastewater treatment expertise with technologies for low-boiling compounds and antibiotics (e.g., Clindamycin, Gabapentin) **using** [**Evaled technology**](https://www.veoliawatertechnologies.be/en/solutions/technologies/evaled)**.** For hydrocarbon solvent residues from synthesis processes, Veolia offers **MPPE (Macro Porous Polymer Extraction) technology**.

**Download the White Paper on eXeno: The MBBR System for Treating Wastewater from Pharmaceutical Industries**

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