Average Total Chemical Oxygen Demand Research Articles

Direct Membrane Filtration of Wastewater: A Comparison between Real and Synthetic Wastewater

In this study, a lab scale direct membrane filtration (DMF) system using ultrafiltration membranes was operated to compare synthetic and real wastewater to evaluate their membrane fouling propensity and the partitioning of organics and nutrients during concentration. For fouling prevention, cyclic operation was used which consisted of 90 s of filtration followed by 15 s of relaxation and backwashing conducted every 15 min. The system was tested at a high initial flux of 80 LMH (L/m2·h), and the trials were run until a 90% volume reduction was achieved for each batch. Both the synthetic and real wastewater showed similar fouling propensities and organic and nutrient partitioning. The synthetic and real wastewater had an average flux of 46.3 LMH and 28.5 LMH and an average total chemical oxygen demand rejection of 90.3% and 83.1% after 30 h of operation, respectively. The recovery of organics was similar in both influents, resulting in 65.5% and 64.0% of the total chemical oxygen demand concentrations in the concentrate stream for synthetic and real wastewaters, respectively. The total phosphorous and nitrogen concentrations were also similar in terms of rejection rates resulting in 85% and 78% for the synthetic and 89% and 65% for the fresh WWs, respectively. The comparison revealed that synthetic wastewater, though not identical to real wastewater, can serve as a surrogate in DMF studies. This will help to remove one of the key sources of variability in current DMF studies and will allow for more rapid development of DMF technology.

Nitrogen removal from poultry slaughterhouse wastewater in anaerobic-anoxic-aerobic combined reactor: Integrated effect of recirculation rate and hydraulic retention time

The aim of this work was to assess the nitrogen removal from slaughterhouse wastewater in an anaerobic-anoxic-aerobic combined reactor, evaluating the integrated effect of recirculation rate and hydraulic retention time. The recirculation of the liquid phase from the aerobic zone to the anoxic zone was applied to promote the denitrification through the use of endogenous electron donors. Three recirculation rates (R: 0.5, 1 and 2) and three hydraulic retention times (14, 11 and 8 h) were applied. The operation of the reactor was divided into 3 steps (I, II, and III) according to the factors evaluated (recirculation rate and HRT), to achieve operational conditions that would allow satisfactory performance in the different compartments of the reactor. During the experiment the reactor was fed with average total nitrogen (TN) and chemical oxygen demand (COD) of 65 mg L−1 and 580 mg L−1, respectively. The denitrification efficiency (theoretical) and kinetics parameters for COD decay were calculated. The highest performance was verified in the Step III (R = 2) and HRT of 11 h with NH4+ and TN removals of 84% and 65%, respectively. The TN removal efficiency (65%) was considered satisfactory, since the theoretical denitrification efficiency expected for this condition (R = 2) is 67%, without addition of an external carbon source. The lowest nitrification efficiency values were obtained in HRT of 8 h in the Step I and II (R = 0.5 and 1, respectively), indicating that the nitrification time (3 h - aerobic phase) may be the limiting factor in this HRT. The COD removal efficiency was high in all assays (>95%). The values of the kinetic degradation constants of organic matter were close for all recirculation rates, and the highest values were recorded for the HRT of 8 h and R = 1 and R = 2 (−0.48 and −0.43, respectively).

Viability of a Single-Stage Unsaturated-Saturated Granular Activated Carbon Biofilter for Greywater Treatment

Compared with conventionally collected sewage, source-diverted greywater has a higher potential for on-site treatment and reuse due to its lower contaminant levels and large volume. A new design of granular activated carbon (GAC) biofilters was developed by incorporating unsaturated and saturated zones in a single stage to introduce an efficient, passive, and easy-to-operate technology for greywater on-site treatment at the household scale. The design was customized for its intended application considering various aspects including the reactor’s configuration, packing media, and feeding strategy. With the highest hydraulic and organic loadings of 1.2 m3 m−2 d−1 and 3.5 kg COD m−2 d−1, respectively, and the shortest retention time of 2.4 h, the system maintained an average total chemical oxygen demand removal rate of 94% with almost complete removal of nutrients throughout its 253 days of operation. The system showed a range of reduction efficacy towards five surrogates representing viruses, bacteria, and Cryptosporidium and Giardia (oo)cysts. A well-functioning biofilm was successfully developed, and its mass and activity increased over time with the highest values observed at the top layers. The key microbes within the biofilter were revealed. Feasibility of the proposed technology was investigated, and implications for design and operation were discussed.

Estimation of effluent parameters of slaughterhouse wastewater treatment with artificial neural network and B-spline quasi interpolation

Effluent of slaughterhouse wastewater treatment by combined up-flow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB) reactor and extended aeration reactor was estimated through artificial neural networks (ANN), ANN-genetic algorithm (GA) and B-spline quasi interpolation. The overall system operated at two runs with average total chemical oxygen demand (TCOD) of 1514.65 and 3160.2 mg/L for the first and second run, respectively; with two overall hydraulic retention times of 73 and 104 h for each run. The overall system could remove TCOD, ammonia, phosphate and turbidity to a high extent. The multilayer perceptron artificial neural network (MLPANN) trained by Levenberge–Marquardt algorithm was employed to predict the TCOD, ammonia, phosphate and turbidity of the effluent which resulted in R of 0.8257, 0.6274, 0.7961 and 0.6884, respectively. The optimization of MLPANN by GA performed better than MLPANN with R of 0.8390, 0.7650, 0.8107 and 0.7365 for TCOD, ammonia, phosphate and turbidity, respectively. The B-spline quasi interpolation indicates a more accurate prediction due to its R of 0.9619, 0.8806, 0.8307 and 0.7856 for TCOD, ammonia, phosphate and turbidity, respectively. The B-spline quasi interpolation operation time is notably lower than ANN and ANN-GA. In addition, it has a simple algorithm and is implemented easier than the artificial neural network model.

Enhancement of overloaded waste stabilization ponds using different pretreatment technologies: a comparative study from Namibia

Abstract Waste stabilization ponds (WSP) are a well-established wastewater treatment technology in Namibia. However, they are often overloaded and we still lack concepts and technologies for improvement. Therefore, this study presents the full-scale implementation of two pretreatment technologies to reduce the inflow of organic and solid loads into a facultative pond. We specifically compared the effects of anaerobic biological and mechanical pretreatment by an upstream anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB) reactor and a 250 μm micro sieve (MS). Not only in Namibia but also in most sub-Saharan countries, there is little experience with these technologies for the treatment of municipal wastewater in small and fast-growing local communities. Both technologies were tested in parallel for a period of 17 months and proved operational. While the UASB achieved better removal results with respect to chemical oxygen demand (COD) and suspended solids (TSS), the MS was more flexible in handling changing inflow patterns and had a much smaller footprint. The average total COD reductions of the MS and the UASB were 22 and 50%, respectively. TSS were removed by 45% with the MS and by 57% with the UASB reactor. Therefore, UASB and MS are viable options for the enhancement of existing WSP to reach better effluent values of the facultative pond.

Simultaneous nitrogen and dissolved methane removal from an upflow anaerobic sludge blanket reactor effluent using an integrated fixed-film activated sludge system

One of the main drawbacks of upflow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB) reactors that treat low-strength sewage at room temperature is related to the low quality of their effluents in terms of dissolved methane, organic matter, and nitrogen content. The present study aims to evaluate the feasibility of using an integrated fixed-film activated sludge (IFAS) system as an alternative post-treatment technology to mitigate the environmental impact of such effluents. For this purpose, a pilot plant composed of a UASB (120 L) followed by an IFAS (66 L) system was operated for 407 days. Special attention was paid to the suspended biomass retention capacity and the dissolved methane and nitrogen removal potential of the IFAS post-treatment system. Furthermore, the role of carriers on denitrification and nitrification processes and the microbial communities present in the biofilm were also analyzed. Average total chemical oxygen demand (CODT) and ammonium removal efficiencies of 92 ± 3% and around 57 ± 16% were attained throughout the entire operation, respectively. During a first period in which biomass was maintained in both biofilms and suspension, and nitrite was the main electron acceptor, maximum nitrogen removal and methane removal efficiencies of 32.5 mg TN L-1 and 93% were observed in the IFAS system, respectively. However, throughout the second period, in which suspended biomass was completely washed out from the IFAS system, and nitrate became the main electron acceptor, these values decreased to 18 ± 4 mg TN Lfeed-1 and 77 ± 12%, respectively. Surprisingly, throughout the entire operation, it was observed that around 50 and 41% of the total nitrogen and methane removals observed in the IFAS system, respectively, were carried out in the aerobic compartment. Aerobic methane oxidizers and anammox were detected with significant relative abundances in the biofilm carriers used in the anoxic and aerobic compartments using 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing analysis. Therefore, the use of an IFAS system could be suited to diminish greenhouse gas emissions and nutrients concentration for those sewage treatment plants that used UASB systems, especially in countries with temperate and warm climates.

Comparison of Single-Stage and Two-Stage Thermophilic Anaerobic Digestion of SS-OFMSW During the Start-Up Phase

The accumulation of volatile fatty acids during the anaerobic digestion of biodegradable substrate such as Source Sorted Organic Fraction of Municipal Solid Waste (SS-OFMSW) is associated with an inhibitory effect on methane producing biochemical pathways. While inconclusive at times, the usage of two-stage digesters has been argued as a potential solution for this issue. In this study single-stage versus two-stage thermophilic digesters, fed with SS-OFMSW, were examined during the startup phase while increasing the loading rate from 0.5 to ~ 2 g VS L−1 d−1. While both systems exhibited a stable performance, with neutral pH and low intermediate-to-partial alkalinity, the two-stage digester exhibited better effluent quality with 79 and 57% lower average total chemical oxygen demand (TCOD) and soluble COD (SCOD), respectively. Also, upon reaching steady-state conditions, the two-stage system showed a superior performance with an overall methane content of 54%, compared to an average of 45% in the single-stage system.

Biological treatment of slaughterhouse wastewater: kinetic modeling and prediction of effluent.

In this study three modeling approaches consisting Modified Stover-Kincannon, multilayer perceptron neural network (MLPANN) and B-Spline quasi interpolation were applied in order to predict effluent of up-flow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB) reactor and also to find the reaction kinetics. At first run, the average total chemical oxygen demand (TCOD) removal efficiency was 48.3% with hydraulic retention time (HRT) of 26h and 63.8% with HRT of 37h, at OLR of 0.77-1.66kg TCOD/m3 d. At the second run, UASB reactor operated with OLR of 1.94-3.1kg TCOD/m3 d and achieved the average TCOD removal efficiency of 64.74 and 72.48% with HRT of 26 and 37h, respectively. The Modified Stover-Kincannon performed well in terms of kinetic determination with a high value of regression coefficient over 0.98. The B-Spline quasi interpolation and MLPANN indicated a great fit for effluent prediction with average R of 0.9984 and 0.9986, and MSE of 157.6050 and 129.7796, respectively; however, they gave no information about reactions occurred in the system.

LAB-SCALE STUDY ON CO-DIGESTION OF KITCHEN WASTE, SLUDGE AND SEWAGE

Anaerobic digestion is widely used for biodegradable solid organic wastes in order to recover bio-energy in the form of biogas. Some previous studies presented that co-digestion of various substrates can improve biogas yields as well as enhanceperformance of organic wastes digestion, in comparison with digestion of sole solid waste. This study aimed to evaluate the performance of anaerobic mono-digestion and anaerobic co-digestion of the following mixtures: (a) sole kitchen waste (KW), (b) KW and sewage (SW), (c) sole sludge (SL)and (d) KW and SL. This study was conductedby four lab-scale anaerobic complete mixing reactors (numbered MH1 – MH4) in 4,5 liters working volume atorganic loading rate (OLR) 2,0 g(VS).L-1.d-1. The KW was collected from canteen B4 and SW was collected from effluent from septic tank C6 Building in Ho Chi Minh University of Technology (HCMUT). The results show that the reactor of sole KW obtained average total chemical oxygen demand (tCOD), soluble chemical oxygen demand (sCOD), total solid (TS), volatile solid (VS), total phosphorus (TP) and total Kjeldahl nitrogen (TKN) of 62 %, 62 %, 71 %, 72 %, 73 % and 45 %, respectively, whereas reactor of KW and SW co-digestion had were tCOD, sCOD, TS, VS, TP and TKN removal of 73 %, 78 %, 75 %, 79 %, 59 % and 57 %, respectively. Thus co-digestion of KW and SW revealed an efficient enhancement of digestion, instead of sole KW digestion. Similarly, TS (74 %) and VS removals (75 %) of co-digesting mixtures of SL and KW were higher than those of sole SL digestion (67 %). Furthermore, co-digestion of SL and KW obtained better performance in tCOD and sCOD removals (70 % and 76 %, respectively).

The Oxygenic Photogranule Process for Aeration-Free Wastewater Treatment

This study presents the oxygenic photogranule (OPG) process, a light-driven process for wastewater treatment, developed based on photogranulation of filamentous cyanobacteria, nonphototrophic bacteria, and microalgae. Unlike other biogranular processes requiring airlift or upflow-based mixing, the OPG process was operated in stirred-tank reactors without aeration. Reactors were seeded with hydrostatically grown photogranules and operated in a sequencing-batch mode for five months to treat wastewater. The new reactor biomass propagated with progression of photogranulation under periodic light/dark cycles. Due to effective biomass separation from water, the system was operated with short settling time (10 min) with effective decoupling of hydraulic and solids retention times (0.75 d vs 21-42 d). During quasi-steady state, the diameter of the OPGs ranged between 0.1 and 4.5 mm. The reactors produced effluents with average total chemical oxygen demand less than 30 mg/L. Nitrogen removal (28-71%) was achieved by bioassimilation and nitrification/denitrification pathways. Oxygen needed for the oxidation of organic matter and nitrification was produced by OPGs at a rate of 12.6 ± 2.4 mg O2/g biomass-h. The OPG system presents a new biogranule process, which can potentially use simple mixing and natural light to treat wastewater.

Biomethane production from vinasse in upflow anaerobic sludge blanket reactors inoculated with granular sludge.

The main objective of this study was to evaluate the anaerobic conversion of vinasse into biomethane with gradual increase in organic loading rate (OLR) in two upflow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB) reactors, R1 and R2, with volumes of 40.5 and 21.5 L in the mesophilic temperature range. The UASB reactors were operated for 230 days with a hydraulic detection time (HDT) of 2.8 d (R1) and 2.8–1.8 d (R2). The OLR values applied in the reactors were 0.2–7.5 g totalCOD (L d)−1 in R1 and 0.2–11.5 g totalCOD (L d)−1 in R2. The average total chemical oxygen demand (totalCOD) removal efficiencies ranged from 49% to 82% and the average conversion efficiencies of the removed totalCOD into methane were 48–58% in R1 and 39–65% in R2. The effluent recirculation was used for an OLR above 6 g totalCOD (L d)−1 in R1 and 8 g totalCOD (L d)−1 in R2 and was able to maintain the pH of the influent in R1 and R2 in the range from 6.5 to 6.8. However, this caused a decrease for 53–39% in the conversion efficiency of the removed totalCOD into methane in R2 because of the increase in the recalcitrant COD in the influent. The largest methane yield values were 0.181 and 0.185 (L) CH4 (g totalCOD removed)−1 in R1 and R2, respectively. These values were attained after 140 days of operation with an OLR of 5.0–7.5 g totalCOD (L d)−1 and totalCOD removal efficiencies around 70 and 80%.

An innovative of aerobic bio-entrapped salt marsh sediment membrane reactor for the treatment of high-saline pharmaceutical wastewater

A novel bio-entrapped salt marsh sediment membrane reactor (BESMSMR) was evaluated for treating high-salinity pharmaceutical wastewater, and membrane fouling behaviour was also assessed. The BESMSMR was operated in parallel with a conventional membrane bioreactor (CMBR), and a salt marsh sediment membrane bioreactor (SMSMBR) as well as an entrapped biomass MBR (bio-entrapped membrane reactor, BEMR) to facilitate a meaningful comparison of performance characteristics obtained in these reactor systems. Two hydraulic retention times (HRTs) of 60 and 40h with organic loading rates (OLRs) varied from 7.0 to 11.9kgCOD/m3d were tested. The pharmaceutical wastewater used has an average total chemical oxygen demand (TCOD) of 17,931±1851mg/L and total dissolved solids (TDS) of 20,881±2030mg/L. The BESMSMR demonstrated the highest removal efficiencies of TCOD (78.4–81.3%), due to the ability of the marine sediment microorganisms seeded from coastal shores to thrive in the hyper-saline environment and degraded recalcitrant organic matter present in the pharmaceutical wastewater. The anoxic zone presented in the inner part of bio-carriers could have triggered the denitrification reaction, and thus improved the TN removal rate by 15–20%. Membrane fouling was reduced with lower concentrations of mixed liquor suspended solids (MLSS), extracellular polymeric substance (EPS), and soluble microbial products (SMP) in the entrapped biomass MBRs. Proteins rather than carbohydrates were the main component of EPS and SMP in the MBR systems. The novel BESMSMR possesses the benefits of salt marsh sediment and an entrapped biomass technique that offered effective organic removal for the high-salinity pharmaceutical wastewater and reduced membrane fouling.

Anaerobic treatment of sulfate-containing municipal wastewater with a fluidized bed reactor at 20 °C.

This study focuses on the anaerobic treatment of sulfate-containing municipal wastewater at 20 °C with a fluidized bed reactor. Mean influent chemical oxygen demand (COD) and sulfate concentrations were 481 and 96 mg/l. The response of the COD removal efficiency to increasing organic loading rates (OLR) was investigated. Average total COD removal was 61% at OLR between 2.7 and 13.7 kg COD/(m³·d) and did not distinctly depend on the OLR. To assess the removal efficiency in more detail the COD in- and output mass flows were balanced. The results showed that only 11-12% of the input COD was recovered as gaseous methane. About 12-13% of the input COD remained in the effluent as dissolved methane. Furthermore, a distinct amount of 12-19% of the input COD remained in the reactor as settled sludge and was not further biologically degraded. Due to the reduction by sulfate-reducing bacteria, 13-14% of the input COD was degraded. Further adverse impacts of the influent sulfate on the anaerobic treatment process are discussed as well.

Comparison of a Mesophilic and Thermophilic Novel Sludge-Bed Anaerobic Membrane Bioreactor Treating Prehydrolysis Liquor from a Dissolving Pulp Mill

AbstractPerformance of the novel sludge-bed anaerobic membrane bioreactor (SB-AnMBR) at a mesophilic (35°C) and a thermophilic (55°C) temperature was compared for the treatment of the prehydrolysis liquor (PHL) at organic loading rates (OLRs) ranging from 0.8 to 10 kg-COD/m3-d. An average chemical oxygen demand (COD) removal of 91% and a specific yield of 0.36 m3-CH4/kg-CODremoved/day [% relative standard deviation (RSTD) =4.6] was observed at a mesophilic temperature irrespective of the increase in loading rate. The temperature of the mesophilic (35°C) SB-AnMBR reactor was increased in a single step to achieve a thermophilic temperature (55°C). The one-step increase in temperature exerted stress on the biomass during the first 60 days of the operation at thermophilic temperature leading to the presence of slow-degrading lignin in the effluent with an average removal efficiency of less than 56% and average total COD removals of less than 60%. Subsequently, the methane yield was found to increase to an a...

High organic loading treatment for industrial molasses wastewater and microbial community shifts corresponding to system development

Molasses wastewater contains high levels of organic compounds, cations, and anions, causing operational problems for anaerobic biological treatment. To establish a high organic loading treatment system for industrial molasses wastewater, this study designed a combined system comprising an acidification tank, a thermophilic multi-stage (MS)-upflow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB) reactor, mesophilic UASB reactor, and down-flow hanging sponge reactor. The average total chemical oxygen demand (COD) and biochemical oxygen demand removal rates were 85%±3% and 95%±2%, respectively, at an organic loading rate of 42kgCODcrm−3d−1 in the MS-UASB reactor. By installation of the acidification tank, the MS-UASB reactor achieved low H2-partial pressure. The abundance of syntrophs such as fatty acid-degrading bacteria increased in the MS-UASB and 2nd-UASB reactors. Thus, the acidification tank contributed to maintaining a favorable environment for syntrophic associations. This study provides new information regarding microbial community composition in a molasses wastewater treatment system.

Evaluation of system performance and microbial communities of a bioaugmented anaerobic membrane bioreactor treating pharmaceutical wastewater

In this study, a control anaerobic membrane bioreactor (C-AnMBR) and a bioaugmented anaerobic membrane bioreactor (B-AnMBR) were operated for 210 d to treat pharmaceutical wastewater. Both the bioreactors were fed with the pharmaceutical wastewater containing TCOD of 16,249 ± 714 mg/L and total dissolved solids (TDS) of 29,450 ± 2209 mg/L with an organic loading rate (OLR) of 13.0 ± 0.6 kgCOD/m3d. Under steady-state condition, an average total chemical oxygen demand (TCOD) removal efficiency of 46.1 ± 2.9% and 60.3 ± 2.8% was achieved by the C-AnMBR and the B-AnMBR, respectively. The conventional anaerobes in the C-AnMBR cannot tolerate the hypersaline conditions well, resulting in lower TCOD removal efficiency, biogas production and methane yield than the B-AnMBR seeded from the coastal shore. Pyrosequencing analysis indicated that marine bacterial species (Oliephilus sp.) and halophilic bacterial species (Thermohalobacter sp.) were only present in the B-AnMBR; these species could possibly degrade complex and recalcitrant organic matter and withstand hypersaline environments. Two different dominant archaeal communities, genus Methanosaeta (43.4%) and Methanolobus (61.7%), were identified as the dominant methanogens in the C-AnMBR and the B-AnMBR, respectively. The species of genus Methanolobus was reported resistant to penicillin and required sodium and magnesium for growth, which could enable it to thrive in the hypersaline environment.

English

A modified lab-scale anoxic/oxic process was designed incorporating an upflow sulfur-packed biofilter for the treatment of anaerobically digested swine wastewater. In this study, chemical oxygen demand (COD), NH4+-N and NOx--N removal efficiencies were investigated. The experimental results showed that by increasing the internal recycle ratio from 1 to 3, the overall performance of the system improved. Organics removal efficiency was found to be fairly high and stable and the average total chemical oxygen demand (TCOD) removal efficiency ranged from 79 to 90%. This process removed up to 98% of the total NH4+-N from the nitrification reactor with proper pH control using excess alkalinity and a recycle ratio of 3. The average removal efficiency of NOx--N in the anoxic reactor was above 80% with the poor effluent quality (25 mg/l). This high concentration of NOx--N in the effluent of the anoxic reactor was removed by the sulfur-packed biofilter with the stable effluent concentrations between 0.4 and 4 mg/l. This result indicates that the sulfur-packed biofilter would be used as an efficient option for denitrification by autotrophic denitrifiers during swine wastewater treatment.   Key words: Biological nitrogen removal, nitrification, denitrification, chemical oxygen demand (COD), intermittent aeration, sulfur-packed bed reactor, swine wastewater, anoxic-oxic process, internal recycle.

Assessment of the performance of a down-flow hanging sponge system for treatment of agricultural drainage water

The performance of down-flow hanging sponge (DHS) system for the treatment of agricultural drainage water has been investigated for six months. The reactor was operated at a hydraulic retention time (HRT) of 2.0 h, sludge residence time of 88.5 d, and food to micro-organism ratio of 0.24 kg COD/kg MLVSS/d. The results obtained showed that the average total chemical oxygen demand (CODtot) and biochemical oxygen demand (BOD5) concentrations measured in the final effluent of the system were 62.4 and 17.1 mg/l, respectively, corresponding to the overall removal efficiency of 73.1% for CODtot and 86.7% for BOD5. The reactor provided a final effluent containing a low concentration of 14.7 mg/l for total suspended solids (TSS). Moreover, 84% of ammonia–nitrogen was eliminated at organic loading rate (OLR) of 3.0 kg COD/m3 d. The calculated nitrification rate of the DHS system according to the nitrate and nitrite production amounted to 0.16 kg NH4–N/m3 d. Based on these results, the reactor achieved an effluent quality complying for reuse in agricultural purposes. The effect of shock load on the performance of DHS system was investigated. The results revealed that reducing the HRT from 2.0 to 0.5 h and increasing the OLR from 3.80 to 15.33 kg COD/m3 d would increase the COD and ammonia–nitrogen levels in the effluent from 28 to 81 mg/l and from 1.68 to 3.08 mg/l, respectively. However, the COD and ammonia–nitrogen removal efficiency returned to their original values within 3.0 and 1.0 h, respectively.

Full-scale treatment of wastewater from a biodiesel fuel production plant with alkali-catalyzed transesterification

The treatment of wastewater derived from a biodiesel fuel (BDF) production plant with alkali-catalyzed transesterification was studied at full scale. The investigated wastewater treatment plant consisted of the following phases: primary adsorption/coagulation/flocculation/sedimentation processes, biological treatment with the combination of trickling filter and activated sludge systems, secondary flocculation/sedimentation processes, and reverse osmosis (RO) system with spiral membranes. All the processes were developed in a continuous mode, while the RO experiment was performed with batch tests. Two types of BDF wastewater were considered: the first wastewater (WW1) had an average total chemical oxygen demand (COD), pH and feed flow rate of 10,850.8 mg/L, 5.9 and 2946.7 L/h, respectively, while the second wastewater (WW2) had an average total COD, pH and feed flow rate of 43,898.9 mg/L, 3.3 and 2884.6 L/h, respectively. The obtained results from the continuous tests showed a COD removal percentage of more than 90% for the two types of wastewater considered. The removal of biorefractory COD and salts was obtained with a membrane technology in order to reuse the RO permeate in the factory production cycle. The rejections percentage of soluble COD, chlorides and sulphates were 92.8%, 95.0% and 99.5%, respectively. Because the spiral membranes required a high number of washing cycles, the use of plane membranes was preferable. Finally, the RO reject material should be evaporated using the large amount of inexpensive heat present in this type of industry.

Performance of Air Suction Flow Biofilm Reactor in Treating Municipal-Strength Wastewater

The provision of technologies that can meet increasingly stringent wastewater discharge standards while reducing energy, operation, and maintenance costs is vital to government, local authorities, industry, and the public at large. The air suction flow biofilm reactor (ASF-BR) is a novel batch biofilm technology suitable for treating wastewaters from municipal, industrial, and agricultural sources. This paper presents an investigation into the performance of a laboratory-scale ASF-BR in treating municipal-strength wastewater over two operational periods—Phase 1 and Phase 2. Phase 1 concentrated on organic carbon removal and nitrification, whereas Phase 2 included an anoxic step to achieve denitrification. The operation of the unit was also investigated by monitoring organic carbon and nitrogen in the reactors during a number of treatment cycles. In Phases 1 and 2 (29 and 124 days of steady-state operation, respectively) of this laboratory study, using a municipal-strength synthetic wastewater, the average influent total chemical oxygen demand (CODt) was 288 and 313 mg/L, whereas the average influent filtered COD (CODf) was 127 and 148 mg/L, respectively. The average CODf removal rates were 92 and 79% during Phases 1 and 2, respectively. Average nitrogen removals during Phases 1 and 2 of greater than 95% ammonium nitrogen (NH4-N) were achieved. By reducing the number of pumping cycles during the aerobic step, the overall energy consumed was reduced by 37.5% during Phase 2 while achieving similar results. On the basis of these positive initial results, a pilot-scale reactor has been constructed at a local wastewater-treatment facility, and commissioning of the unit is currently underway.