Wastewater treatment with bacteria immobilized onto a ceramic carrier in an aerated system

Biological treatment of the wastewater discharged from a food processing factory was continuously carried out in a packed bed bioreactor under aerobic conditions. The bacterium isolated from the wastewater was immobilized onto a new type of ceramic carrier by a vacuum method and high numbers of bacteria were colonized onto the carrier (2.9 x 10(9) cfu/g of dry ceramic carrier). The effect of the hydraulic retention time (HRT) and aeration rate on the removal of the chemical oxygen demand (COD) was investigated. The system was able on average to remove more than 82% of the influent COD during 160 d of operation and more than 87% of the influent COD on average was removed when the HRT was 30.17 h and the aeration rate was 2.0 vvm. Aeration rates in the range of 0.4 to 2.0 vvm do not affect the COD removal efficiency.