Spurring more biofilm growth for efficient wastewater treatment
Foaming plastic carriers creates uneven surfaces, more area for necessary microorganisms
- Date:
- September 4, 2024
- Source:
- Osaka Metropolitan University
- Summary:
- Wastewater treatment could be more effective using foamed plastic carriers in the moving bed biofilm reactor (MBBR) process, a research team has found. Their study showed that biofilm formation increased by 44 times compared with smooth plastic carriers.
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For the sake of the environment and our quality of life, effective treatment of wastewater plays a vital role. A biological method to treat sewage using moving, biofilm-covered plastic items known as carriers has been gaining prominence, and an Osaka Metropolitan University-led team has found ways to make the process more efficient.
The moving bed biofilm reactor (MBBR) process purifies wastewater by putting these carriers in motion to get the biofilm's microorganisms into greater contact with organic matter and other impurities. The more biofilm that can be attached to the plastic carriers, the more microorganisms that are available to clean the wastewater.
OMU Professor Masayuki Azuma and Associate Professor Yoshihiro Ojima of the Graduate School of Engineering worked with a team from Kansaikako Co., an Osaka-based company specializing in water treatment-related products, and found that polypropylene carriers foamed to create uneven surfaces and more surface area allowed 44 times more biofilm formation than smooth plastic carriers.
Moreover, adding waste biomass such as composted seaweed when foaming further enhanced the performance of the foamed plastic carriers, especially in terms of nitrate removal during the MBBR process.
"Since there is a wide variety of wastewater, it will be necessary to prove that these foamed carriers also have superior suitability to various wastewater," stated Professor Azuma. "It is clear that the addition of waste biomass improves the performance of the carriers, so we expect that further performance enhancement can be achieved depending on the additive."
The findings were published in Environmental Technology & Innovation.
Story Source:
Materials provided by Osaka Metropolitan University. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.
Journal Reference:
- Tomoki Gamo, Yoshihiro Ojima, Sayaka Matsubara, Yoshihiro Fukumoto, Masayuki Azuma. Nitrogen conversion performance of a polypropylene carrier designed to promote biofilm formation through foaming. Environmental Technology & Innovation, 2024; 36: 103747 DOI: 10.1016/j.eti.2024.103747
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