Abstract
ABSTRACT A downflow anaerobic filter packed with blast-furnace slag (BFS) grains was evaluated for treating cheese whey, a high-strength dairy effluent. The reactor demonstrated effective and stable biomethanation of whey in continuous mode without pH control. The chemical oxygen demand (COD) removal remained at around 80%, with the reactor pH being maintained neutral without buffering, in the organic loading rate (OLR) range of 0.8–2.4 g COD/l∙d. Although the COD removal decreased down to below 60% at higher OLRs along with acid accumulation, the methane production rate continued to increase with increasing OLR. On the other hand, the methane yield was maintained at 0.28–0.34 l/g COD throughout the experiment. The substrate removal and methane production kinetics were successfully described by the modified Stover–Kincannon model. The overall results suggest that BFS grains could be used as economic filter media for anaerobic treatment of cheese whey and other easily acidifying waste streams.
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