Recent advances in biofilm technologies for breeding wastewater treatment: Fundamentals, performance and impacts of antibiotics

• Published in: Journal of water process engineering 2024-05, Vol.62, p.105429, Article 105429
• Main Authors: Lin, Bincheng, Lai, Yangyu, Ke, Youqing, Huang, Yaning, Tao, Yewen, Han, Xiaomeng, Ma, Jinxing
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Antibiotic; Biofilm; Breeding wastewater; Denitrification; Nitrification
• ISSN: 2214-7144; 2214-7144
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jwpe.2024.105429

The breeding industry plays a vital role in providing the primary source of nutrient intake for people. However, the discharge of breeding wastewater poses a significant threat to the ecological environment. Biofilm technologies have emerged as promising solutions for breeding wastewater treatment because of their high efficiency and low energy cost. To date, there remains a notable gap in the comprehensive synthesis of process performance, critical operating parameters, and potential antibiotic-related issues in treating poultry, livestock, and aquaculture wastewater. This review therefore provides a thorough overview of recent advances in biofilm technologies for this specific domain. In moving bed biofilm reactors (MBBR) and sequencing batch biofilm reactors (SBBR), biocarrier properties and specific functional bacteria are crucial to achieve high pollutant degradation efficiency and to overcome the limitations at a low C/N ratio. In membrane aerated biofilm reactor (MABR), factors such as membrane material, dissolved oxygen concentration, and biofilm thickness have significant impacts on the process performance. Besides, the integration of novel contaminant removal pathways with MABR can enhance its versatility. Given the frequent detection of antibiotics in breeding wastewater, their impacts on biofilm microbial characteristics and the formation of antibiotic resistance genes are paramount. In summary, we have identified the key factors influencing the biofilm reactor performance, highlighted the impacts of antibiotics in breeding wastewater treatment, and emphasized the potential for achieving high efficiency. This review aims to pave the way for addressing the challenges and exploring perspectives of biofilm-based technologies in environmental applications. [Display omitted] •Biofilm technologies are promising for breeding wastewater treatment.•Biocarriers, bacterial strains and SND are crucial for MBBR and SBBR.•MABR demonstrates various denitrification pathways towards high efficiency.•Antibiotics widely detected in the feed have adverse impacts on biofilm reactors.