Anaerobic acetogenic treatment of palm oil mill effluent for COD removal

Abstract

Palm oil mill effluent (POME) is a form of wastewater that is dark brownish and contains a high concentration of contaminants such as chemical oxygen demand (COD). Conventional biological treatments, such as ponding, are widely utilized and require large amounts of land to be occupied for extended periods to cure POME efficiently. The goal of this research is to examine the effect of 5, 7, and 9-day hydraulic retention times on the COD removal of POME in a batch mode utilizing anaerobic acetogenic treatment followed by anaerobic polishing. The findings indicate that increasing HRT improves the removal efficiency of POME treatment. COD had a removal efficiency of 53%, 63%, and 62% for 5,7, and 9 days, respectively. Seven and nine HRT days performed better than five HRT days. This study establishes the suitability of the anaerobic acetogenic process for the treatment of POME.