IMPROVED MOBILE BED BIOFILM REACTORS TO TREAT CELLULOSIC WASTEWATERS

Abstract

The wastewater treatment sector is a very dynamic field, in continuous development. New technologies are developed, or the existing ones are improved [1]. An efficient biological treatment is based on solid small plastic pieces (biofilm carriers) on which different types of microorganisms attach, develop and grow. This technology is known as Moving Bed Biofilm Reactor (MBBR) technology [2]. The most common materials used for the biofilm carriers’ realization are based on high density polyethylene. This technology is not yet applied for the treatment of the cellulosic wastewaters, since cellulose is hard to be removed by using conventional microorganisms that are usually used in biological wastewater treatment. Some of the authors propose an improved material for carriers to be used in tertiary treatment for textile, paper-mill or tannery wastewaters [3]. The biofilm carriers are adapted for fungal activity. The selected fungal strains (White Root Fungi) capable of removing cellulose from wastewaters [4] will be immobilized on special biofilm carriers. The improved carrier is designed to be used in a MBBR and to favour fungal development in the presence of competing bacteria. Several laboratory experiments related to the fungal attachment on the improved carriers were realized and the results are presented in the paper.