Industrial wastewater treatment by Aerobic Inverse Fluidized Bed Biofilm Reactors (AIFBBRs): A review

Recent progress on Aerobic Inverse Fluidized Bed Biofilm Reactors (AIFBBRs) used for treatment of various industrial wastewaters is discussed in this article. For the effective operation of AIFBBRs, knowledge of phase holdup, pressure gradient, phase flow rates, minimum fluidization velocity, friction factor, bubble size and rise velocity; mass & heat transfer coefficients; residence time distribution; and settled bed to bioreactor volume ratio are essential. In this regard different aspects of AIFBBRs such as static bed height and shape, size, density, & type of carrier particles have been analyzed. Knowledge of the reaction conditions (time, temperature, and pH), type of microorganisms and nutrients, concentration of pollutants, and thickness of biomass growth on carrier particles are also essential. Various literatures reveal that AIFBBRs have better operational stability and have higher organic matter removal capacity. Future research aspects of AIFBBRs are also discussed in this article.