A dual purpose packed-bed reactor for biogas scrubbing and methane-dependent water quality improvement applying to a wastewater treatment system consisting of UASB reactor and trickling filter

Abstract

A wastewater treatment system employing a UASB reactor in temperate regions requires biogas as a heat source for the UASB reactor during low temperature seasons. In this case, removal of H 2S in the biogas by means of a scrubber before burning is necessary in order to prevent the boilers from corroding. Heating of the UASB reactor is, however, unnecessary in a warm season, and the scrubber and biogas become useless. Methane-dependent water quality improvement using the scrubber and biogas would be one way to use them efficiently during the warm season. The possible dual-purpose use of a packed-bed reactor was examined, with one of its uses being the scrubbing of biogas during the cold season and the other being the methane-dependent improvement of effluent water quality during the warm season. A bench scale packed-bed filled with plastic latticed-ring media was installed in a livestock wastewater treatment plant consisting of a UASB reactor and a trickling filter for post-treatment. The packed-bed was operated with biogas flowing at a superficial velocity of 0.14–0.39 m h −1 and the hydraulic loading of trickling filter effluent sprayed onto the media 9.4–26.1 m 3 m −2 day −1 . H 2S in the biogas from the UASB reactor was reduced from 1200–2500 ppm to less than 2 ppm by the reactor. Methane-dependent water quality improvement was examined using a laboratory scale reactor to which methane and/or air was supplied from the bottom, while plant effluent was spread from the top of the reactor. When the mixture gas of methane and air (volume ratio 1:3) was added to the reactor, biofilm grew on the surface of the media. Accompanying this growth, ammonium and phosphate in the spread water decreased, probably due to assimilation by the methane-oxidizing bacteria. Though assimilation activity dropped after the accumulation of biomass, it could be reactivated by washing out the excess biomass. Periodical backwash at a rate of more than once a week seemed to efficiently maintain the removal activity. The dark brown color of the wastewater could be also reduced in concert with methane oxidation. It seemed that methane-oxidizing bacteria degraded color-causing compounds. These results suggest that the packed-bed reactor is useful for both H 2S purification of biogas and methane-dependent effluent water quality improvement.