Influence of salinity on biofilm formation and COD removal efficiency in anaerobic moving bed biofilm reactors

Anaerobic digestion is widely used for wastewater treatment, but this approach often relies on microbial communities that are adversely affected by high-salinity conditions. This study investigated the applicability of an anaerobic moving bed biofilm reactor (AMBBR) to treating high-salinity wastewater. The removal performance and microbial community were examined under salinity conditions of 1000-3000 mg/L, and a soluble chemical oxygen demand (sCOD) removal efficiency of up to 8% ± 2.74% was achieved at high-salinity. Scanning electron microscopy showed that microorganisms successfully attached onto the polyvinyl alcohol gel carrier, and the extracellular polymeric substances on the biofilm increased at higher salt concentrations. The AMBBR also maintained traditionally accepted levels of total alkalinity and volatile fatty acids for stable wastewater processing under these operating conditions. High-throughput sequencing indicated that Desulfomicrobium and three methanogenic groups were the dominant contributors to sCOD removal. Overall, the results showed that the AMBBR can successfully treat fish factory wastewater under varying salinity conditions.