Abstract
The aim of this work was to evaluate the effect of organic loading rate and alkalinity on methane production. Biomass of sewage sludge was inoculated and stabilized on polypropylene rings and immersed in the liquid phase (8.41 L) of an upflow anaerobic filter bioreactor (12.22 L). A solution of 5 g of whole milk powder per liter was used to simulate effluent from the dairy industry. The hydraulic retention time (HRT) initially tested was 2 days. Methane was initially produced in a medium alkalinized with 4000 mg NaHCO3.L-1. The best HRT condition was 1 day (between 2 and 0.5 days). Biogas production reached 1,5 NL of biogas per L of reactor liquid phase with 68% of methane and a concomitant reduction in COD of 57%. The best methane production condition while chancing de alkalization was with the addition of 3000 mg NaHCO3.L-1, between 4000 and 1000 mg.L-1, and HRT of 1 day.
Highlights
In 2015, Brazilian milk production was estimated at 37.2 billion liters (MAPA, 2015) and worldwide production at 830 billion liters (FAO, 2015)
synthetic industrial effluent (SIE) fermentation without bicarbonate supplementation showed a marked drop in pHout. This pH is insufficient to methane production, as confirmed through biogas production observations
Sewage sludge can be used as a source of microorganisms for production of a biofilm in 1" polypropylene rings used for filling an upflow anaerobic filter reactor
Summary
In 2015, Brazilian milk production was estimated at 37.2 billion liters (MAPA, 2015) and worldwide production at 830 billion liters (FAO, 2015). Processing of dairy products generates a large quantity of wastewater with a high organic load. The chemical oxygen demand (COD) levels of dairy wastewaters vary between 1,150 and 9,200 mg COD.L-1 (Demirel et al, 2005). Wastewaters with these characteristics can be bio-transformed through aerobic and/or anaerobic processes to reduce the organic load. The anaerobic process is simpler and has lower operating costs, besides being more energy-efficient (Patel et al, 1999), producing less sludge, requiring less inorganic nutrients, and generating methane as a by-product (Patil et al, 2012)
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