In addition to the food industry, biological anaerobic and aerobic technologies can be applied in the chemical and pharmaceutical industry as well.

Typical for the chemical and pharmaceutical waste water is the high organic pollution, which is often limited to only a few components that can be present in high concentration. Every production site has its own unique effluent composition.

This type of effluents require tailor-made solutions. The Upflow Anaerobic Sludge Blanket (UASB) process and the External Circulation Sludge Bed (ECSB) process from HydroThane are worldwide proven processes for the treatment of this type waste water.

Some chemical /pharmaceutical production processes where anaerobic technology has been applied are:
- Purified Terephthalic Acid (PTA)
- Phenol
- DMT
- Penicillin
- Insulin.