Abstract
A system that represents a semi-continuous aerobic moving bed biofilm reactor (MBBR) was used for the treatment of synthetic Fischer-Tropsch (FT) wastewater contaminated with short chain alcohols (SCAs) and volatile fatty acids (VFAs). The point of zero charge (PZC) of the carriers used in the MBBR system was found to occur at pH 7.9. The aerobic system for the treatment of FT synthetic wastewater was found to be efficient, and it reduced the chemical oxygen demand (COD) by up to 93.4% at a hydraulic retention time (HRT) of 3 days. The organic loading rate was kept constant at COD 67.9 g/L. Biodegradation kinetics revealed that 71% of the COD was removed within 9 hours. In addition, the biodegradation of SCAs and VFAs correlated well with the first order kinetic model and an R2 value of 0.94 and a rate constant of 0.137 h-1 were achieved. The half-life time of the SCAs and VFAs was found to be 5.07 h. Given the stubborn nature of compounds found in the FT wastewater, results emanating from this study augurs well for the biodegradation and treatment of FT wastewaters contaminated with organic compounds.
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