Abstract
In recent years, an increasing interest in biofilm processes for the treatment of municipal and industrial wastewaters has been observed. One of the growing biofilm technologies is the Moving-bed Biofilm Reactor (MBBR), which has been successfully established in the market. A great number of large-scale wastewater treatment plants along with many other smaller treatment installations around the world make use of the MBBR concept. The development of the MBBR process was based on the central idea of obtaining, in a single system, the best characteristics of the activated sludge and biofilm processes. With the biomass immobilized on a free-support media, solids retention in the biological reactor is enhanced. This chapter covers the principle of the MBBR operation, the biofilm carriers employed in such systems, the key operational aspects and a broad range of applications of this technology.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Similar content being viewed by others
References
ASLAN, S., CAKICI, H. Biological denitrification of drinking water in a slow sand filter, Journal of Hazardous Materials, v. 148, n. 1-2, p. 253-258, 2007.
BASSIN, J.P; DEZOTTI, M. Primary, secondary and tertiary treatment of wastewaters. In: DEZOTTI, M. Processes and Techniques for Environmental Control of Liquid Wastewaters. Rio de Janeiro: e-papers, p. 53-241, 2008 (In Portuguese).
BASSIN, J.P., DEZOTTI, M., SANT’ANNA Jr., G.L. Nitrification of industrial and domestic saline wastewaters in moving bed biofilm reactor and sequencing batch reactor. Journal of Hazardous Materials, v. 185, n. 1, p. 242-248, 2011.
BASSIN, J.P., KLEEREBEZEM, R., ROSADO, A.S., VAN LOOSDRECHT, M.C.M., DEZOTTI, M. Effect of different operational conditions on biofilm development, nitrification, and nitrifying microbial population in moving-bed biofilm reactors. Environmental Science and Technology, v. 46, n. 3, p. 1546-1555, 2012.
BRADFORD, M. M. A Rapid and Sensitive Method for the Quantitation of Microgram Quantities of Protein Utilizing the Principle of Protein-Dye Binding. Analytical Biochemistry, v. 72, p. 248-254, 1976.
CAMMAROTA, M. C., SANT’ANNA JR., G. L. Metabolic blocking of exopolysaccharides synthesis: effects on microbial adhesion and biofilm accumulation. Biotechnology Letters, v. 20, n. 1, p. 1-4, 1998.
DANIELS, L., HANSON, R. S., PHILLIPS, J. A. Chemical Analysis. In: Washington, USA: ASM press, 1994. In: Gerhart, P., Murray, R. G. E., Wood, W. A., et al. (eds), Methods for General and Molecular Bacteriology, Cap. 4.
EPA - Environmental Protection Agency – USA, Nitrogen Control, EPA/625/R-93/010, 1993.
FLEMMING, H. C., WINGLINDER, J. Relevance of microbial extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) – Part I: Structural and ecological aspects. Water Science and Technology, v. 43, n. 6, p. 1-8, 2001.
FRØLUND, B., PALMGREN, R., KEIDING, K. Extraction of Extracellular Polymers from Activated Sludge using a Cation Exchange Resin. Water Research, v. 30, n. 8, p. 1749-1758, 1996.
FURUMAI, H., RITTMAN, B.E. Evaluation of multiple-species biofilm and floc processes using a simplified aggregate model. Water Science and Technology, v. 29, n. 10-11, p. 439-446, 1994.
GLASS, C., SILVERSTEIN, J. Denitrification kinetics of high nitrate concentration water: pH effect on inhibition and nitrite accumulation. Water Research, v. 32, n. 3, p. 831-839, 1998.
GONÇALVES, R.F.; CHERNICHARO, C.A.L.; ANDRADE NETO, C.O.; SOBRINHO, P.A.; KATO, M.T.; COSTA, R.H.R.; AISSE, M.M., ZAIAT, M. Post-treatment of wastewaters from anaerobic reactor in biofilm systems. In: Chernicharo, C.A.L. Post-treatment of wastewaters from anaerobic reactors. Belo Horizonte: PROSAB, p. 171-278, 2001 (In Portuguese).
GRUNDITZ, C., DALHAMMAR, G. Development of nitrification inhibition assays using pure cultures of Nitrosomonas and Nitrobacter, Water Research, v. 35, n. 2, p. 433-440, 2001.
HÄNEL, K. Ellis Horwood series in water and wastewater technology biological treatment of sewage by the activated sludge process. New York: Ellis Horwood Limited, 1988.
HEM, L.J., RUSTEN, B., ØDEGAARD, H. Nitrification in a moving bed biofilm reactor. Water Research, v. 28, n. 6, p. 1425-1433, 1994.
HENZE, M., HARRE, P., JANSEN, J.C., ARQIN, E. Wastewater Treatment – Biological and chemical process. Springer Verlag, 2nd edition, Germany, 1997.
JULIASTUTI, S.R., BAEYENS, J., CREEMERS, C. Inhibition of Nitrification by Heavy Metals and Organic Compounds: The ISO 9509 Test, Environmental Engineering Science, v. 20, n. 2, p. 79-90, 2003.
KERMANI, M.; BINA, B.; MOVAHEDIAN, H.; AMIN, M.M.; NIKAEEN, M. Biological phosphorous and nitrogen removal from wastewater using moving bed biofilm process, Iranian Journal of Biotechnology, v. 7, n. 1, p. 19-27, 2009.
LABELLE, M. A., JUTEAU, P., JOLICOEUR, M., VILLEMUR, R., PARENT, S., COMEAU, Y. Seawater denitrification in a closed mesocosm by a submerged moving bed biofilm reactor. Water Research, v. 39, n. 14, p. 3409-3417, 2005.
LOWRY, O. H., ROSENBROUGH, N. J., FARR, A. L. Protein Measurement with the Folin Phenol Reagent. Journal of Biological Chemistry, v. 193, p. 265-275, 1951.
LUOSTARINEN, S., LUSTE, S., VALENTIN, L., RINTALA, J. Nitrogen removal from on-site treated anaerobic effluents using intermittently aerated moving bed biofilm reactors at low temperatures. Water Research, v. 40, n. 8, p. 1607-1615. 2006.
MADIGAN, T. M.; MARTINKO, J. M.; PARKER, J. Brock biology of microorganisms. 8th ed. New York: Prentice Hall, 1997.
METCALF and EDDY. Wastewater Engineering – Treatment, Disposal and Reuse, USA: McGraw-Hill, 3rd edition, 1991.
McADAM, E. J.; JUDD, S. J. Denitrification from drinking water using a membrane bioreactor: Chemical and biochemical feasibility. Water Research, v. 41, p. 4.242-4.250, 2007.
NAIR, R. R.; DHAMOLE, P. B.; LELE, S. S.; D’SOUZA, S. F. Biological denitrification of high strength nitrate waste using preadapted denitrifying sludge. Chemosphere, v. 67, p. 1.612-1.617, 2007.
NICOLELLA, C.; VAN LOOSDRECHT, M.C.M; HEIJNEN, J.J. Wastewater treatment with particulate biofilm reactors. Journal of Biotechnology, v. 80, p. 1-33, 2000.
ØDEGAARD, H. Innovations in wastewater treatment: The moving bed biofilm process. Water Science and Technology, v. 53, n. 9, p. 17-33, 2006.
ØDEGAARD, H., RUSTEN, B. Wastewater treatment with aerated submerged biological filters. Journal Water Pollution Control Federation, v. 56, n. 5, p. 424-431, 1993.
ØDEGAARD, H., RUSTEN, B., WESSMAN, F. State of the art in Europe of the moving bed biofilm reactor (MBBR) process. Paper presented in WEFTEC’04 in New Orleans, 4th October, 2004.
ØDEGAARD, H., RUSTEN, B., WESTRUM, T. A new moving bed biofilm reactor – applications and results. Water Science and Technology, v. 29, n. 10-11, p. 157-165, 1994.
PASTORELLI, G., ANDREOTTOLA, G., CANZIANI, R., FRANGIPANE, E. F., PASCALIS, F., GURRIERI, G., ROZZI, A. Pilot-Plant experiments with moving-bed biofilm reactors. Water Science and Technology, v. 36, n. 1, 1997.
RAMALHO, R. S. Introduction to wastewater treatment processes. 2nd ed. New York: Academic Press, 1983.
REIS, Gelma Gonçalves. Influence of organic load on the performance of moving-bed biofilm reactors (MBBR). 134 f. Master’s thesis in Chemical Engineering – Coppe. Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, 2007 (In Portuguese).
ROCCA, C.D., BELGIORNO, V., MERIC, S. An heterotrophic/autotrophic denitrification (HAD) approach for nitrate removal from drinking water. Process Biochemistry, v. 41 p. 1022-1028, 2006.
RODGERS, M., XIN-MIN, Z. Biological nitrogen removal using a vertically moving biofilm system. Bioresource Technology, v.93, n. 3, p. 313-319, 2004.
RUSTEN, B., EIKEBROKK, B., ULGENES, Y., LYGREN, E. Design and operations of the Kaldnes moving bed biofilm reactors. Aquacultural Engineering, v. 34, n. 3, p. 322-331, 2006.
RUSTEN, B., HEM, L.J., ØDEGAARD, H. Nitrification of municipal wastewater in moving-bed biofilm reactors. Water Environment Research, v. 67, n. 1, p. 75-86, 1995.
RUSTEN, B., MCCOY, M., PROCTOR, R., SILJUDALEN, J.G. The innovative moving bed biofilm reactor/solids contact reaeration process for secondary treatment of municipal wastewater. Water Environment Research, v. 70, n. 5, 1998.
RUSTEN, B., MATSSON, E., BROCH-DUE, A., WESTRUM, T. Treatment of pulp and paper industry wastewater in novel moving bed biofilm reactors. Water Science and Technology, v. 30, n. 3, p. 161-171, 1994.
RUSTEN, B., ØDEGAARD, H., LUNDAR, A. Treatment of dairy wastewater in a novel moving bed biofilm reactor. Water Science and Technology, v. 26, n. 3/4, p. 703, 1992.
SALVETTI, R.; AZZELLINO, A.; CANZIANI, R.; BONOMO, L. Effects of temperature on tertiary nitrification in moving-bed biofilm reactors. Water Research, v. 40, p. 2.981-2.993, 2006.
SOKÓL, W., 2003, “Treatment of refinery wastewater in a three-phase fluidised bed bioreactor with a low density biomass support”, Biochemistry Engineering Journal, v. 15, p. 1-10.
SORIA, F.L.; CHAVARRIA, J.M. Techniques for environmental protection, v. 2, Editorial Labor S/A, p. 235-239, 1978 (In Spanish).
SOUSA, J. T.; FORESTI, E. Environmental management and control. Use of anaerobic sludge as external carbon source of denitrification of wastewaters. Revista Brasileira de Engenharia Agrícola e Ambiental, v. 3, p. 69-73. Campina Grande/Paraíba: DEAg/UFPB, 1999 (In Portuguese).
STEWART, P.S. Diffusion in biofilms. Journal of Bacteriology, v. 185, n. 5, p. 1485-1491, 2003.
SURAMPALLI, R.Y.; TYAGI, R.D.; SCHEIBLE, O.K.; HEIDMANN, J.A. Nitrification, denitrification and phosphorus removal in sequential batch reactors. Bioresource Technology, v. 61, p. 151-157, 1997.
TAVARES, C.R.G., SANT’ANNA JR., G. L., CAPDEVILLE, B. The effect of air superficial velocity on biofilm accumulation in a three-phase fluidized-bed reactor. Water Research, v. 29, n. 10, p. 2293-2298, 1995.
VAN RIJN, J.V.; TAL, Y; Schreier, H.J. Denitrification in recirculating system: Theory and applications. Aquacultural Engineering, v. 34, p. 364-376, 2006.
VON SPERLING, M. Introduction to water quality and sewage treatment. 2nd ed. Belo Horizonte: Environmental and Sanitary Engineering Department, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, 1996 (In Portuguese).
WANG, X. J., XIA, S. Q., CHEN, L., ZHAO, J. F., RENAULT, N. J., CHOVELON, J. M. Nutrients removal from municipal wastewater by chemical precipitation in a moving bed biofilm reactor. Process Biochemistry, v. 41, n. 4, p. 824-828, 2006.
WELANDER, U.; HENRYSSON, T.; WELANDER, T. Nitrification of landfill leachate using suspended-carrier biofilm technology, Water Research, v. 31, 2351-2355, 1997.
WHO, Guidelines for drinking water quality, 3rd ed. Geneva (CH): World Health Organization, 2003.
XAVIER, J. B.; PICIOREANU, C.; VAN LOOSDRECHT, M.C.M. A framework for multidimensional modelling of activity and structure of multispecies biofilms. Environmental Microbiology, v. 7, n. 8, p. 1085-1103, 2005.
YU, H.B.; QUAN, X.; DING, Y.Z., Medium-strength ammonium removal using a two-stage moving bed biofilm reactor system, Environmental Engineering Science, v. 24, n. 5, p. 595-601, 2007.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2018 Springer International Publishing AG
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Bassin, J.P., Dezotti, M. (2018). Moving Bed Biofilm Reactor (MBBR). In: Advanced Biological Processes for Wastewater Treatment. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-58835-3_3
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-58835-3_3
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-58834-6
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-58835-3
eBook Packages: Earth and Environmental ScienceEarth and Environmental Science (R0)