The performance of an immobilized continuous fluidized reactor for salad oil-containing model wastewater was examined at a high loading rate using polyurethane as a support, to be applied in fat- and oil-containing wastewater treatment, generated by daily activities in restaurant kitchens. At an organic loading rate higher than 0.6 kg/m(3)/day, there was a significant amount of white solid (WS), identified as a mixture of calcium di-stearate and di-palmitate, suggesting that saturated fatty acid degradation was limited at such a high loading rate, possibly due to its solubility in the wastewater. Increased oil dispersion by the addition of a surfactant ranging from 10 to 100 mum particle size could result in less than 30 mg/l oil concentration after the treatment at 5 kg/m(3)/day. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.