In recent years wastewater treatment technologies has evolved and well-known technologies has improved or modified to offer less energy consumption, less area requirenent while complying with higher effluent standards. Moving Bed Bio-Reactor (MBBR) can also be listed as one of the newer technologies. MBBR system in short is a combination of fixed film process such as trickling filters and suspended growth such as activated sludge process.

While fixed film processes such as trickling filters offer a great deal of advantages with also many disadvantages, when combined with the activated sludge process can offer much more advantages and less disadvantages during the process of treatment. MBBR system has the advantages such as;

• Ease of operation in activated sludge processes and still have the benefit of embodying more biomass in the system attached to the bio-media in the system.
  
  
• These bio-media is made of small plastics or other materials that provides higher surface area for the bacteria/microorganisms to attach while still suspended in the water.
  
  
• Less area requirement whereas the bacterial population is higher than the conventional activated sludge process.
  
  
• The operation is the same as the activated sludge process except for the lamella settling tank just after the aeration.
  
  
• The oxygen requirements are higher and blower use is necessary which may seem like a disadvantage whereas operationally this not only provides an ease of use and control but also overcomes the problem of dead or anaerobic zones.
  
  
• Can be operated with anoxic and anaerobic nutrient removal processes.
  
  
• Provides the benefit of preventing microorganism washout since the media would hold the characteristic bacteria in the designated space.
  
  
• The solids retention time also could be as high as extended aeration, so less sludge production.
  
  
• Higher COD and BOD removal efficiencies.
  
  
• Using recycled media material is an environmentally sound approach.
  
  

MBBR Applications