SBR Technology and Role of Aerobic Granular Sludge in Biological Treatment of Wastewater

Urban centers are unambiguously discharging wastewater in the natural streams, lakes, ponds and for irrigation in the agricultural fields. In the early stages of human civilization, wastewater discharges did not pose problem to water bodies as the nature had the capability for degradation and restoration of the quality of water to its normal condition.The key challenges towards better management of the water quality in India are spatial and temporal variation of rainfall, improper management of surface runoff , uneven geographic distribution of ground water resources, repeated droughts and floods, excessive use of groundwater, and contamination, drainage, and salinitization and water quality problems due to treated, partially treated, and untreated wastewater from urban, commercial settlements, industrial establishments, and run-off from the irrigation sector besides strapped management of municipal solid waste.SBRs are used all over the world and have been around since the 1930s. With their growing popularity in European countries, China as well as the United States, they are now being used profitably to treat both industrial and municipal wastewaters. They are now used in India and all over the world, particularly in areas characterized by low or varying flow profile. Municipalities, casinos resorts, and a number of industries, including tanneries, dairy, pulp, paperand textiles industries are using sequential batch reactors as practical wastewater treatment alternatives.