CARRIERS FOR MICROBIOTA IMMOBILIZATION IN WASTEWATER TREATMENT TECHNOLOGIES

Abstract

This study provides a comprehensive synthesis of available data on the diversity of carriers for microorganism immobilization, the materials and design architectures used in their production, and analyses how these characteristics affect the efficiency of water purification. This work considers the contributions of researchers from both domestic and international contexts in this field. Most carriers used today either have insufficient surface area for microorganism immobilization, are complex to install or operate, or have low biological stability. Synthetic microorganism carriers are gaining increasing recognition and widespread use in biological wastewater treatment technologies. The carrier material for microorganism immobilization must possess certain characteristics: insolubility in water; significant permeability to air, water, enzymes, substrates, and reaction products; high chemical and biological stability; high specific surface area for biomass immobilization; considerable sorption capacity for microorganisms; manufacturability in production and installation; the ability to regulate process parameters by changing the structure of carrier elements; low material consumption and costeffectiveness through the use of secondary materials. It has been found that rough carriers can provide better opportunities for biofilm formation than smooth ones. It is also desirable for the carrier to have a positive surface charge, as the surface charge of bacterial cells is negative. Among known carriers, the domestic capron fiber carrier “VIYA” has a variety of undeniable advantages and has found wide application in the treatment of wastewater from a wide range of industrial enterprises. The introduction of systems for the immobilization of bacterial biota and other hydrobionts into modern water purification biotechnologies makes it possible to significantly improve and increase the rate of wastewater treatment at treatment facilities, as well as to significantly accelerate the self-purification processes of water in small rivers, and positively affect the ecology of aquatic ecosystem hydrobionts.