Abstract
Significant over-strength discharge fees are often imposed on breweries for the disposal of high-strength effluent to sanitary sewers. In this research work, the removal performances of electrocoagulation (EC) compared with operating electrocoagulation and chemical coagulation in sequence (EC-CC) or vice-versa (CC-EC) was examined to determine the capability of treatment in reducing the strength of the wastewater. Optimal operating parameters regarding electrolysis time, initial pH, and applied power were determined in conjunction with nutrient removal performance, electrode consumption and energy usage. Combined EC-CC treatment has been demonstrated to be economically feasible for brewery wastewater applications from an energy consumption perspective due to the efficiency of nutrient removal and the reduction of sewer discharge costs. Treatment by EC-CC at 5 W for 20 min using aluminum electrodes resulted in enhanced and consistent removal efficiencies of 26%, 74%, 76%, and 85% for chemical oxygen demand (COD), reactive phosphorous (RP), total phosphorous (TP) and total suspended solids (TSS), respectively. Energy consumption was the main contributor to operating cost. By considering potential recovered over-strength discharge fees (ODF), EC-CC treatment is economically feasible and beneficial in a brewery wastewater application. The results demonstrated the effectiveness of the CC-EC process to remove phosphorous, organics and solids from brewery wastewater at lower power supply, so that the recovered ODF cost for CC-EC at 5 W-EC is 23% higher than at 10 W-EC.
Highlights
Over the past decade, the brewing industry has experienced substantial growth worldwide, solidifying its position and economic value in the global agri-food sector [1,2]
The results demonstrated the effectiveness of the chemical coagulation (CC)-EC process to remove phosphorous, organics and solids from brewery wastewater at lower power supply, so that the recovered over-strength discharge fees (ODF) cost for CC-EC at 5 W-EC is 23% higher than at 10 W-EC
Optimal parameters considered to affect EC performance include initial pH, applied power, electrolysis time, current density, initial conductivity and electrode material/spacing/surface [8]. These parameters are often optimized to improve pollutant removal performance while minimizing energy consumption required during treatment
Summary
The brewing industry has experienced substantial growth worldwide, solidifying its position and economic value in the global agri-food sector [1,2]. In Canada, the number of small breweries has increased by 17.6% between 2016 and 2017 due to the increasing market share of Craft beer [3]. This has increased the amount of generated wastewater where Craft breweries have been established, often adding organic loading stress to smaller community wastewater treatment facilities. Effluent created during the beer brewing process can be highly variable as a result of the mixture of waste streams from different processes and stages [4]. The combination of large volumes of highly variable effluent can result in significant disposal costs for a brewery. Several types of biological treatment methods have been applied to brewery wastewater treatment; anaerobic treatment accounts for the most common full-scale systems [1,2]
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