A Review on Performance of Rotating Biological Contactor for Phenolic Wastewater Treatment

Phenolic compounds are amongst the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and are the most important environmental pollutants found in the waste effluent of many industries, including refineries, petrochemicals, steel industries, and iron foundries, with an average concentration of 10 to 2000 mg/l. Removing these compounds before releasing them in nature and reusing wastewater is accordingly of particular importance. Among phenol removal methods, biodegradation is an environmental friendly and cost effective method and rotating biological contactor (RBC) system is in particular recognized as one of the most efficient attached growth fixed bed wastewater treatment processes for stationary and advanced treatment with phenol removal efficiency of 85 to 99%. The advantages of RBC include resistance to hydraulic and organic shocks, little chance of creating anaerobic conditions, high sedimentation rate of sludge produced, low space requirements, very low energy costs, simplicity and easiness of operation, no need of expert personnel for supervision and operation, and low maintenance costs. The present review introduces RBC system, comparing with other phenolic purification methods, expressing the history, the reactor design and the operational parameters affecting it. Also the previous researches on phenol removal by RBC system has been evaluated.