Nitrificação em reator do tipo MBBR: uma revisão bibliométrica e sistemática da literatura

Abstract

The need to remove nutrients from the effluents, particularly nitrogen, has also become a relevant issue, since this nutrient, when in excess, is responsible for the eutrophication of water bodies. The MBBR reactor arose from the need for more compact treatments, due to the growing demand in large urban centers. MBBR technology uses biological media, allowing the attached growth of microorganisms, forming biofilms. The formation of biofilms in successive layers creates an environment conducive to the removal of nitrogen through the processes of nitrification and denitrification. This work aimed to carry out a bibliometric and systematic review of the literature on nitrification in MBBR reactors, treating domestic effluents, in order to observe how research has approached the topic over time. To this end, search terms were used in the Scopus database, such as “MBBR”, “Nitrification” and “Wastewater Treatment”, returning 243 works. Then, a refinement was carried out excluding terms related to the treatment of leachate from landfills and other effluents, and in this way 232 works were returned, from which the bibliometric analysis was carried out. The results indicated the first publication in 1993, and that there is a tendency for research on the topic to grow to this day. Although Norway was a pioneer in MBBR reactor research, China is the country with the largest number of publications and institutions that finance research. Over the period 1993 – 2023, Christensson, M. was the author who stood out the most in terms of number of publications, groups of researchers from different countries published in collaboration. The main axes of research in the time horizon were: adaptation of conventional activated sludge systems to MBBR reactors, costs of biological media and search for alternative materials, performance of MBBR reactors at low temperatures, mathematical modeling of the nitrification process in MBBR reactors, study of biofilms with a view to the simultaneous nitrification/denitrification process and reducing process costs with energy savings.