Application of A2O moving-bed biofilm reactors for textile dyeing wastewater treatment

A three-stage pilot-scale moving-bed biofilm reactor (MBBRs, anaerobic-anaerobic-aerobic in series) was investigated to treat textile dyeing wastewater. Each reactor was filled with 20% (v/v) of polyurethane-activated carbon (PU-AC) carrier for biological treatment. To determine the optimum operating conditions of MBBRs, the effect of PUAC carrier, its packing percentage (v/v%) and pH control on COD removal were analyzed by batch experiments. The MBBRs were inoculated with activated sludge obtained from a local dyeing wastewater treatment plant. The MBBR process removed 86% of COD and 50% of color (influent COD=608 mg/L and color=553 PtCo unit) using relatively low MLSS concentration (average 3,000 mg/L in biomass attached to PU-AC carrier) and hydraulic retention time (HRT=44 hr). The MBBR process showed a promising potential for dyeing wastewater treatment.