Startup of expanded granular sludge bed reactor treating undiluted palm oil mill effluent

Abstract

A lab-scale Expanded Granular Sludge Bed (EGSB) Reactor was used to the treatment of undiluted Palm Oil Mill Effluent (POME) with the COD mean value of 53,333.33 mg/l. The startup was done at a mesophilic temperature of 35 ± 2°C for 12 days with two days Hydraulic Retention Time (HRT) as a pre-study of enhanced biogas production by mesophilic and thermophilic anaerobic co-digestion of POME with Empty Fruit Bunches (EFB) in EGSB Reactor. The steady state was achieved at 8th to 12th day of continuous operation. The effluent COD at steady state was vary from 10,000 to 11,500 mg/l, COD removal 78.44 – 81.25 %, Methane content was 43.89 % and total biogas volume achieved was 2.760 ml (0.1486 – 0.1503 m3 CH4/kg COD removed). There were several operational problems met in the experiment and corresponding countermeasures were also discussed.