Moving bed biofilm reactor for wastewater treatment

Moving bed biofilm reactor (MBBR) has attracted much interest because of its flexibility, compactness, and stable functioning. It is a powerful technology that can efficiently treat municipal, industrial, and other refractory wastewater and has advanced rapidly in recent years. This chapter presents recent advances in moving carriers’ modification, influential factors, and functional microorganisms in MBBR and its nutrients and micro-pollutants removal. Carriers constitute the core of MBBR processes, and modifying the carriers to further improve their film-forming performance is exhibited. The basic mechanisms of MBBR such as microbiology, stoichiometry, and growth kinetics are reported. The design and operation of MBBR process, treatment costs, and limitations are discussed. The chapter also highlights the effective removal in organics and nitrogen of MBBR with respect to the operating conditions (e.g., hydraulic retention time, temperature, dissolved oxygen concentration, and carrier filling rate), and the composition and concentration of pollutants in the influent. The application of MBBR for elimination of micro-pollutants and the corresponding changes in the microbial community are also reviewed. Finally, the future perspectives of MBBR are also recommended.