Aerobic and Anaerobic Biological Processes for Wastewater Treatment: Technologies, Performance Evaluation and Future Perspectives

Abstract

Wastewater has proven to be one of the key environmental issues facing the world today as a result of the increasing amounts of untreated domestic, agricultural, and industrial wastewaters being discharged into the environment. Inefficient management of wastewater has been identified as posing serious risks to environmental sustainability. Among the various wastewater treatment processes, the biological processes have been widely used as they are cost-effective, easy to operate, environmentally friendly, and involve less energy and chemical usage.

This study is aimed at providing a comprehensive review of aerobic and anaerobic biological processes used in the treatment of wastewater with special emphasis on advanced aerobic and anaerobic reactor processes, including the Upflow Anaerobic Sludge Blanket (UASB), Expanded Granular Sludge Bed (EGSB), and the combination of anaerobic and aerobic processes. This study will examine the operational mechanisms, efficiencies, advantages, and limitations of the processes based on the existing scientific literature.

Additionally, the study will examine the shortcomings of the existing biological processes and how the combination of aerobic and anaerobic processes can improve the efficiency of the processes while minimizing sludge production and increasing the resource recovery potential through the production of biogas. This study has established that the combination of anaerobic and aerobic processes can be used as a sustainable approach to the management of wastewater, especially in the developing world