Biocarrier-driven enhancement of microbial reactor performance in wastewater treatment: a review

As pressure on the environment increases and urban populations continue to sprawl across, there is shortage of water resources, hence a strong need to improve wastewater treatment technologies emphasis to support sustainable water resource management. Aerobic granular microbial reactors is one of the advanced technologies that have shown great potential in enhancing wastewater treatment performance. The use of biocarriers in wastewater treatment systems depends on the capacity to attain microbial adhesion, formidable biofilm growth, and trigger deterioration of organic and developing contaminants. The porosity and hydrophobicity of biocarriers are important features of key materials that determine microbial colonization and activity. The new trends in biocarrier development have given rise to materials providing resilient microbial communities, the removal of recalcitrant contaminants, and the overall higher efficiency. The initiatives are more scalable, less expensive, and more environmentally friendly in comparison to conventional techniques of wastewater treatment. Moreover, the integration of the engineered biocarriers make the system more resistant to the changes in hydraulic and organic loading, which provides long-term sustainability and stability of the treatment activities. Further development of biocarrier technology is relevant to meet the continuously emerging challenges in wastewater treatment aligns with the scope of resource recovery and circular bioeconomy.