Fat, Oil And Grease Research Articles

Effective grease separator management is the key to enhancing bioenergy recovery of fat, oil, and grease (FOG) and contributing to a circular bio-economy

Management of fat, oil and grease (FOG) is crucial for the recovery of renewable resources and the protection of sewer systems. This study aims to identify the potential quantities and qualities of FOG that can be acquired through optimised grease separator (GS) management approaches in hotels and restaurants during seasonal tourism. A technical survey of 20 GS from hotels and restaurants in the federal state of Tyrol, Austria was conducted. The findings revealed that 55 % of the GS were in poor condition, often due to infrequent maintenance and limited operator's knowledge. The FOG layer quality and quantity was monitored over three years and physicochemical parameters including total residue, volatile solids, total organic carbon, lipid content, and biomethane yield, were analysed. An optimised management approach, which involved up to 4 GS emptying per season, revealed a significant increase in FOG quantity for the majority of the inspected establishments, with an overall doubling of the acquired FOG volume. Based on these results, the energy potential of GS is presented in three potential management scenarios. The energy recovered from GS increased by 246 %. This highlights the importance of proper GS management in the hospitality sector, which can play a critical role in promoting environmental sustainability and renewable energy production.

Elucidating the impact of sanitary waste on the formation of fat, oil and grease deposits in sewer systems

The accumulation of fat, oil and grease (FOG) deposits in sanitary sewer systems is a significant cause of sewer overflows, mainly due to their tendency to adhere to pipe walls. The aim of this study is to (i) develop laboratory-prepared FOG deposits using a mixture of iron (Fe) and aluminium (Al) metal ions, fatty acids, saccharides and cooked oils, in addition to various sanitary waste materials such as paper towels, wipes and pads and (ii) examine the characteristics of these FOG deposits. The goals of this study were to (i) gain a deeper understanding of the impact of sanitary waste on the formation of FOG deposits and (ii) discuss the detailed physiochemical properties of these FOG deposits. The findings revealed that FOG deposits can vary in nature, appearing as either a smooth, paste-like substance or a coarse, semi-solid material, depending on the types of waste present in the sewer. Analysis of the fatty acid profile indicated that the FOG deposits with wipes have the highest viscosity (3.2 × 104 Pa s) and larger composition of smaller chain saturated fatty acids (caprylic acid 0.64%, undecanoic acid 5.61%, lauric acid 4.65%, myristic acid 3.21% and palmitic 8.38%). In contrast, FOG deposits with Fe and Al metal impurities have higher heat resistance and thermal stability (melting point of 125 °C) and have larger composition of long chain fatty acids. Furthermore, FTIR analysis confirmed that these FOG deposits are composed of metallic salts of fatty acids, aligning with samples from sewer lines. Our results suggest that FOG deposit formation involves the aggregation of excess calcium, which compresses free fatty acid micelles, and a saponification reaction between the calcium aggregates and free fatty acids. This research illuminates the complex processes behind FOG deposit formation and their varied characteristics, providing valuable insights into potential strategies for preventing FOG-related sewer blockages.

Treatment of effluents from Food Services Establishment (FSEs) by physico-chemical processes: a case study for Trinidad & Tobago

BackgroundEffluents from Food Services Establishments (FSEs) contain primarily Fats, Oil and Grease (FOG) which severely impact on sewers and the environment when released in high concentrations. In Trinidad & Tobago, it is estimated that approximately 231,304 kg/day of unaccounted for FOG bearing wastewaters from FSEs, are released into the environment with no viable treatment in the country. This research explored the optimization of physico-chemical processes for the treatment of FOGs for subsequent release into sewers.ResultsBench-scale studies analysed the characteristics of FSE’s effluents from three popular sources, conducted the treatment of these effluents using Jar Tests, and subsequently confirm results via a pilot plant study. Characterization showed the mean concentration of the parameters examined to be; FOG (511 mg/l ± 116 mg/l), Suspended Solids (446 mg/l ± 146 mg/l), Chemical Oxygen Demand (2229 mg/l ± 963 mg/l) and pH (6 ± 0.3). Jar Tests were conducted using Poly-aluminium Chloride (PACl) as coagulant, anionic and cationic polyelectrolytes as flocculant aids with suitable pH adjustments of samples to determine the isoelectric point for the coagulant. Effluent results showed FOG removal levels of 99.9% and final effluent concentration of 0.17 mg/l. This was attained using PACl concentration of 250 mg/l, a 0.1% low cationic polyelectrolyte (CP 1154) at 4 mg/l with the pH of sample adjusted to 8. The pilot plant achieved a 97.4% removal of FOG (residual of 16.8 mg/l) using the same coagulant dosing, and pH value, but increasing the strength of the flocculant aid to 0.1% medium cationic (CP1156) at 5 mg/l.ConclusionExperimentation showed high concentrations of emulsified FOG can be efficiently removed to levels below the permissible requirements (20 mg/l) for entry into sewer systems in Trinidad and Tobago using coagulation, flocculation and sedimentation techniques. Pilot scale study also revealed that a higher strength and/or dose of the cationic polyelectrolyte and increased times in primary and final tanks were required to attain the desired results as in the bench level study, where equipment limitations in the flocculation tank were faced. This is in alignment with theory where factors critical for agglomeration is equipment type and density charge. It is, concluded that the optimum combination of chemicals and the respective dosages attained at the bench level study should prove effective should the right equipment be made available.

Effectiveness of grease interceptors in food service establishments for controlling fat, oil and grease deposition in the sewer system

The water industry worldwide experiences numerous sewer blockages each year, partially attributed to the accumulation of fat, oil and grease (FOG). Managing this issue involves various strategies, including the requirement for installation of grease interceptors (GIs) installation. However, the claimed efficacy of commercial GIs of eliminating 99 % of FOG has been questioned for many years because FOG deposit formation occurs despite food service establishments (FSEs) using GIs, therefore detailed understanding of FOG wastewater compositions and its removal by GIs is required. This study provides an insight into the key FOG components such as FOG particle size, metals and fatty acid (FA) profile in GI influent and effluent, and within the GI, at three different FSEs. Analysis of FAs identified substantial proportions of extra-long-chain FAs in the effluents, including arachidic (C20:0), behenic (C22:0), mead (C20:3), lignoceric (C24:0), and nervonic (C24:1) acids. In contrast, the household kitchen released palmitic (C16:0), oleic (C18:1) and linoleic (C18:2) acids. It was further observed that scums effectively remove the larger FOG particles, leaving only 10 % below 75.4 μm. Notably, FSEs which employed automatic dishwashers produced up to 80.4 % of particles ≤45 μm, whereas FSEs and household kitchen which used handwash sinks generated only 36.9 % and 26.3 % of particles ≤45 μm, respectively. This study demonstrated that the commercial GIs do not remove FOG entirely but clearly demonstrated that they discharge high concentrations of FOG with extra-long FFAs which were attributed to the occurrence of microbial activity and hydrolysis of triglycerides within the GI, potentially contributing to FOG deposition.

Effects of total dissolved solids and organic loadings on the chemical oxygen demand removal by yeast-activated sludge system.

Typically, the soybean oil processing industry generates complex wastewater containing high total dissolved solids (TDS), chemical oxygen demand (COD), and fat oil and grease (FOG) contents with low pH. Therefore, treating this industrial wastewater with the conventional activated sludge (AS) wastewater treatment system is challenging. Yeast can be co-cultured with the activated sludge (AS) called yeast-activated sludge (YAS) to degrade high COD and salinity in the wastewater. However, little is known about the effects of TDS and organic loading (OLRs) on the performance of YAS system with the presence of both Rhodotorula mucilaginosa and Candida xylanilytica. In this study, we evaluated the effects of TDS and organic loading rates (OLRs) on the performances of the YAS system for soybean oil wastewater treatment. Four sequencing batch reactors (SBRs) were operated under aerobic conditions at different TDS concentrations 25%, 50%, 75%, and 100% increasing rate. The results indicated that the TDS at the loading rate of 50% resulted in maximum biomass production. The overloading of the clarifier was observed and possibly caused by the accumulation of solids contained in the influent wastewater. At the OLR of 0.67 kg BOD5/m3-day and the TDS loading rate of 15.5 kg TDS/m3-day, the YAS system achieved the average COD removal efficiencies of 71±1%

Physical and chemical characteristics of fat, oil and grease deposits in Chinese kitchen drainage systems.

The blockage of kitchen pipes seriously affects people's normal life. Minimal research is reported on fat, oil and grease (FOG) deposits in kitchen drainage pipes in China. In this study, 16 collected kitchen pipe deposits from various pipe materials are tested using physical and chemical methods. Experimental results show that samples have rough surfaces with porosity between 7 and 20% and appear as milky white lumps with moisture content less than 30% and the density is less than 1.000 g/cm3. Larger diameter of pipes can short blockage period. The oil content varies in deposits. The frequency of restaurants using oil is eight times higher than the family kitchen and the number of oil using is four times. The types of all free fatty acids in the samples are C14-C20, and the content of C16H32O2 is the highest. The highest metal content in the sample is calcium ion, up to 605.036 mg/L. Not only samples have a discontinuity formation process, but also characteristic absorption spectrum between 1300 and 1420, 1550 and 1610 and 1745 cm-1 also draws that saponification reaction occurs during the formation of these samples. The composition and formation rules of FOG deposits analysed can provide reference to prevent and remove blockages in the pipes and develop the kitchen drainage system in China.

Effect of fat, oil and grease (FOG) on the conversion of lignite to biogenic methane

The biogenic methane production experiment of FOG combined with lignite was performed to enhance the methane output of lignite anaerobic fermentation. Three-dimensional fluorescence, gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, volatile fatty acids and 16S rDNA tests were carried out to analyze the composition of the liquid substances at the biomethane peak production. The results showed that the yield of this compound in the combined fermentation of lignite and FOG could be increased by 380.25 %. Moreover, the degradable organic matter and acetic acid content increased, while the degree of humification decreased. In addition, the microbial activity was enhanced. In the combined substrate of the anaerobic fermentation process, both Acinetobacter and Methanosarcina were activated as the dominant bacteria and archaea, respectively, which improved the degradation efficiency of organic matter and the overall biomethane yield. This research showed that the combined anaerobic fermentation of FOG and lignite could promote the biomethane production efficiency in the context of anaerobic fermentation, which provided a new idea for the clean transformation of lignite and utilization of FOG.

LIPASE PRODUCTION FROM SOLID STATE FERMENTATION OF COPRA WASTE ASSOCIATED FUNGUS Aspergillus niger

Lipases are enzyme with versatile industrial applications can be produced by the solid-state fermentation (SSF) method and is an economical alternative for enzyme production assisted by fungus. In Malaysia, 5 million of copra waste were generated annually. Large amount of copra waste produced will cause an increasing amount of the waste dumped to the landfill. Copra waste is one of the potential substrates to produce lipase enzyme through SSF. Thus, the aim of this study is to optimize the lipase production by SSF associated by Aspergillus niger using the 23 full factorial design approach. In this study the factors affecting parameters that involved in the production of lipase enzyme such as temperature (25˚ and 35˚), substrates concentration (40% and 60%) and inoculum size of Aspergillus niger (1 and 9 petri dish) were determined. The maximum production of lipase was obtained after 120-hour incubation in SSF. The optimum condition for inoculum size of Aspergillus niger was 9 plates, 30°C of incubation temperature and 60 % moisture contents. The range of the concentration of lipase enzyme produced varied from 105 U/ml to 170 U/ml. When applied to the wastewater treatment, the reducing percentage of fat, oil and grease (FOG) in food processing wastewater is reduced from 219.4925mg/l to 169.467mg/l accounted to the amount of 34 % FOG removal. Lipase produced using copra waste as a substrate using SSF has the potential value to be developed in the future for various industry including wastewater treatment industry.

Primary Sludge from Dairy and Meat Processing Wastewater and Waste from Biomass Enzymatic Hydrolysis as Resources in Anaerobic Digestion and Co-Digestion Supplemented with Biodegradable Surfactants as Process Enhancers

Incorporation of various alternative resources as co-digestion substrates aids to reduce the consumption of agricultural crops for biogas production. However, the efficiency and limitations of these co-substrates is still not fully understood. Use of biomass waste remaining after enzymatic hydrolysis for high value chemical fermentation, meat processing and dairy wastewater primary sludge as co-substrates in an agricultural resource anaerobic digestion plant is tackled within this study. The results showed that anionic surfactants (<200 ppm) can be used to improve fat, oil and grease (FOG) solubility in water and, at the same time, enhance the biomethane potential of FOG-containing sludge by increasing it from 1374.5 to 1765 mLCH4/gVS for meat processing wastewater primary sludge, and from 534 to 740 mLCH4/gVS for dairy wastewater primary sludge, when agricultural digestate is used as a substrate and sludge loading is not more than 10% from the volatile solids loaded. At the same time, only 549.7 mLCH4/gVS was produced as 30-day BMP when 5% biomass hydrolysis waste was used. Biomass hydrolysis waste co-digestion with primary sludge from dairy and meat processing wastewaters has an antigenic effect, and separate substrate anaerobic digestion gave a better results, thus, showing that excessive combination of various waste resources can be inhibitory for biogas production and the appropriate substrate selection and combination is a technical challenge for the biogas industry.

Anaerobic digester microbiome dynamics in response to moderate and failure-inducing shock loads of fats, oils and greases

Accidental organic overloading (shock loading) is common during the anaerobic co-digestion of fats, oils and greases (FOG) and may lead to decreased performance or reactor failure due to the effects on the microbiome. Here, adapted and non-adapted lab-scale anaerobic digesters were exposed to FOG shocks of varying organic strengths. The microbiome was sequenced during the recovery periods employed between each shock event. Non-failure-inducing shocks resulted in enrichment of fermentative bacteria, and acetoclastic and methylotrophic methanogens. However, sub-dominant bacterial populations were largely responsible for increased biogas production observed after adaptation. Following failure events, early recovery communities were dominated by Pseudomonas and Methanosaeta while late recovery communities shifted toward sub-dominant bacterial taxa and Methanosarcina. Generally, the recovered microbiome structure diverged from that of both the initial and optimized microbiomes. Thus, while non-failure-inducing FOG shocks can be beneficial, the adaptations gained are lost after a failure event and adaptation must begin again.

Enzymatic hydrolysis of waste fats, oils and greases (FOGs): Status, prospective, and process intensification alternatives

The increasing global generation of waste fats, oils, and greases (FOGs) is resulting in a cascade of economic, environmental, and public health issues as mismanagement is a common practice worldwide. Hence industrial exploitation and valorization is required towards a circular economy within the oleochemical industry. FOGs suitable for further oleochemical exploitation include used cooking oils, trap greases, mill effluents, rendering fats, spent earths from filtration and bleaching, deodorization distillates, soapstocks, and sewage sludges, among others. However main challenge for FOGs harnessing are their heterogeneity and the high content of impurities, acidity, and water. Alternatively, waste FOGs could be subjected to complete hydrolysis to recover free fatty acids (FFAs), which are widely used oleochemical feedstocks. Different catalysts have been explored for this process, however, lipases are of particular interest because they are able to work on low-quality feedstocks under milder operating conditions. This paper reviews most recent investigations on the enzymatic hydrolysis of waste FOGs, describing main processes characteristics, operating conditions, challenges, current attempts to improve enzymes performance, the use of combined chemical processes to improve feedstock utilization, and the implementation of intensified processing technologies. Potential for industrial implementation and future research possibilities in the process intensification field are identified.

Facile Preparation of Novel Stainless-steel Mesh for Efficient Separation of FOG (Fat, Oil and Grease) and Water

Facile Preparation of Novel Stainless-steel Mesh for Efficient Separation of FOG (Fat, Oil and Grease) and Water

Investigation of groundwater quality in “Kiramakodu area” of Point Pedro: Vadamarachi aquifer, Northern Sri Lanka

Water is one of the essential part for the existence of life on the earth crust. Over the past decades, demand for the potable water has significantly increased due to the deteriorating anthropogenic activity. Jaffna peninsula completely relies on the groundwater for all the purposes such as domestic, industrial and agriculture. The overpopulation destroyed the freshwater reservoirs and diminishes the natural potable source. This study focuses on a water quality parameters such as pH, turbidity, calcium, magnesium, chloride, sulphate, sodium, potassium, fat, oil and grease (FOG) in vaddamarachi aquifer and calcium (149.17-183.61 ppm), sodium (847.88-1222.99 ppm) and chloride (525.53- 924.80 ppm) content of most of the samples are higher than that of Sri Lankan standard for potable water. This study provides the basic information for the future medical study and gives awareness of water conservation in the region.

Multitaxa assessment of carryover ecotoxicity following three hospital wastewater treatments

Pollutants affect taxa in different ways, which is why ecotoxicity bioassays should be conducted on several species. Bioassays play a key role in improving hospital wastewater (HWW) technologies, which are beset, firstly, by remaining toxicity (inefficiency); and secondly, by toxicity caused by each technology belonging to an HWW treatment train. Both effects constitute carryover toxicity (CT).A new CT test based on four harmonized bioassays (approved by both US Environmental Protection Agency and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, EPA-OECD) was developed to assess three wastewater technologies. Real-life complexity (the multiplicity of technologies, xenobiotics, taxa in trophic networks, and endpoints), as well as ill-suited conventional metrics warranted the use of information theory tools (entropy, chemometrics with principal components analysis, sensitivity and specificity, receiver-operating characteristic) and a Bayesian model (to identify screening and confirmatory capabilities of the CT test).The CT assessment showed that the effect of zeolite with hexadecyltrimethylammonium bromide (Ze) on Daphnia pulex had the highest toxicological cost. This cost was the inhibition or induction entailed by Ze or chlorination (Cl) disinfection given that anaerobic and aerobic digestion (AnA) fomented growth of coliforms.The dose-response curves showed a consistent pattern whereby the point called knee summarized most of the information (i.e., correlated well with the information entropy, R2 = 0.77). Sensitivity (Se) and specificity (Sp) of the 3-taxa test were high (rates of true positives and true negatives were 0.73 and 0.87, respectively). The knee was interpreted as the point at which induction or inhibition plateaued, that is, toxic saturation occurred.Physicochemical results pointed to fat, oil and grease (FOG) associated to total P as clear predictors of induction of bioindicator population growth, possibly related to the action of hormones and pharmaceutical endocrine disruptors (EDs) present in the hospital's pharmacopeia and patients' excreta. In turn, inhibition of population growth was related to high COD.

The interaction between lipids and ammoniacal nitrogen mitigates inhibition in mesophilic anaerobic digestion

Ammoniacal nitrogen and long chain fatty acids (LCFA) are common inhibitors of the anaerobic digestion process. However, the interaction between these inhibitors has received little attention. Understanding the interaction between these inhibitors is important to optimise the operation of anaerobic digesters treating slaughterhouse waste or using fat, oil and grease (FOG) as co-substrate among others. To study the interaction between ammoniacal nitrogen and LCFA inhibition, 20 different conditions were trialled in mesophilic batch tests. Experimental conditions included 5 mixtures between slaughterhouse wastewater and LCFA (100:0, 75:25, 50:50, 20:80, 0:100 on a VS basis), each one tested at 4 different ammoniacal nitrogen concentrations (0, 1, 3, 6 gNadded·L-1). Experimental and modelling results showed that ammoniacal nitrogen inhibition was less severe in LCFA-rich mixtures, indicating that LCFA mitigated ammoniacal nitrogen inhibition to a certain extent. However, the positive interaction between inhibitors did not only depend on the LCFA concentration. A protective LCFA coat that limited the diffusion of free ammonia into the cell and/or provided a localised lower pH in the vicinity of the microbial cell could explain the experimental results. However, ammoniacal nitrogen and LCFA inhibition comprise up to 6 different but interrelated inhibitors (i.e. NH3, NH4+, LCFA, VFA, H2 and pH) and therefore the specific mechanism could not be elucidated. Nonetheless, these results suggest that LCFA do not exacerbate TAN-related inhibition and that LCFA-rich substrates can be utilised as co-substrates in mesophilic N-rich digesters.

Poultry Slaughterhouse Wastewater Remediation Using a Bio-Delipidation Pre-Treatment Unit Coupled with an Expanded Granular Sludge Bed Reactor

The treatment of poultry slaughterhouse wastewater (PSW) with an Expanded Granular Sludge-Bed Bioreactor (EGSB) is hindered by the washout of activated sludge, and difficulties associated with the operation of the three-phase separator and the determination of the optimum up-flow velocity for sludge-bed fluidization. This results in a poor reactor functionality, and thus a poor performance due to pollutants such as fats, oil and grease (FOG) in the PSW being treated. Hydrolyzing the FOG content with a bio-delipidation, enzyme-based agent in a pre-treatment unit would significantly improve the effectiveness of the primary PSW treating system, i.e., the EGSB. In this study, PSW was pre-treated for 48 h with a biological mixture containing bioflocculants and bio-delipidation constituents. The pre-treated PSW was further treated in an EGSB. The PSW FOG, total chemical oxygen demand (tCOD) and total suspended solids (TSS) content were determined to assess the effectiveness of the pre-treatment process as well as to observe the remedial action of the combined pre-treatment-EGSB system. An increased treatment efficacy was noted for the combined PSW treatment system, whereby the tCOD, FOG and TSS removal averaged 76%, 88% and 87%, respectively. The process developed is intended for micro, small and medium poultry slaughterhouses.

Data-driven method based on deep learning algorithm for detecting fat, oil, and grease (FOG) of sewer networks in urban commercial areas

The content of fat, oil and grease (FOG) in the sewer network sediments is the key indicator for diagnosing sewer blockage and overflow. However, the traditional FOG detection is time-consuming and costly, and the establishment of mathematical models based on statistical methods to predict the content of FOG fail to provide satisfactory accuracy. Herein, a deep learning algorithm used a data-driven FOG content prediction model is proposed to achieve a more accurate prediction of FOG content. Meanwhile, global sensitivity analysis (GSA) is exploited to evaluate the contribution of input indicators to the output indicator (FOG) in the model, so that some input indicators that have less impact on the prediction performance can be screened out, the best combination of input indicators can be determined, and the operation cost of the model can be reduced. To evaluate the effectiveness of the proposed model, a case study was conducted in a city in southern China. The experimental results indicate that the prediction model obtains good FOG estimations and performs well from a single site to multiple sites with a mean R2 of 0.922, showing a good generalization performance. Through GSA, the key input indicators in the model were identified as pH, water temperature (T), relative humidity (RH), sewage flow (Flow), drinking water supply (DWS), velocity (V) and conductivity (σ), and the input indicators such as air pressure (AP), population (Pop.), and liquid level (LV) can be reduced without affecting the prediction accuracy of the model.

Shortcut design of sulfur reduction distillation system using pseudo-component description of biodiesel and the sulfur contaminants

A critical factor in environmental degradation is the coupled problem of world population growth and waste management, including wastewater management. Making biodiesel from the FOG (fat, oil and grease) in the wastewater system is an attractive path for sustainable biofuel production, waste management and public health. High sulfur content is the biggest challenge in biodiesel produced with the brown grease extracted from FOG.The purpose of this paper is to present a new method to design the sulfur reduction process based on a pseudo-component approach that greatly reduces the effort required to characterize the complex mixture of methyl esters and sulfur containing contaminants. To demonstrate this method, biodiesel was produced from decanted brown grease using several combinations of acid and base catalysts in a two-step esterification/ transesterification process. Vacuum batch distillation was applied to the crude biodiesel product to generate volatility and sulfur distribution data. An easily applied vapor/liquid equilibrium model was then developed using 7 pseudo-components, each with an assigned sulfur content. A principal result is that the pseudo-component model very accurately simulated the batch distillation data. These pseudo-components were then used in the ASPEN software to design a continuous distillation system for a FOG to biodiesel system being installed at a wastewater treatment plant. The second principal result is the ASPEN based design predicts a biodiesel product containing sulfur lower than 10 ppm, satisfying sulfur requirements worldwide. In conclusion, the pseudo-component design method is a versatile and easily applied approach to design sulfur reduction processes.

Deep-learning based monitoring of FOG layer dynamics in wastewater pumping stations

Accumulation of fat, oil and grease (FOG) in the sumps of wastewater pumping stations is a common failure cause for these facilities. Floating solids are often not transported by the pump suction inlets and the individual solids can accumulate to stiff and thick FOG layers. The lack of data about the dynamics in FOG layer formation still hampers the design of effective measures towards its mitigation. In this article, we present a low-cost camera-based automated system for the observation of FOG layer dynamics in wastewater pumping stations at high-frequency (minutes) over extended time windows (months). Optical imagery is processed through a deep-learning computer vision routine that allows describing FOG layer dynamics (e.g. accumulation rate and changes in shape) and various hydraulic processes in the pump sump (e.g. the water level, surface flow velocity fields, vorticity, or circulation). Furthermore, the system can perform in-camera image processing, thus allowing the transfer of compressed-processed datasets when deployed in remote locations (Edge AI computing), which could be of great utility for the hydro-ecological monitoring community. In this study, the technology applied is illustrated with a dataset (six months, two-minute frequency) collected at a wastewater pumping station at the municipality of Rotterdam, The Netherlands. This monitoring system represents a source of information for the management of (waste)water pumping stations (e.g. detection of free-surface vortices and scheduling of sump cleaning operations) and facilitates the collection of standardized high-frequency FOG layer dynamics data for a detailed description of FOG build-up and transport processes.

Performance Evaluation of a Biological Pre-Treatment Coupled with the Down-Flow Expanded Granular Bed Reactor (DEGBR) for Treatment of Poultry Slaughterhouse Wastewater

Poultry slaughterhouse wastewater contains high concentrations of chemical oxygen demand (COD), total suspended solids (TSSs), fats, oil and grease (FOG), proteins and carbohydrates. It is important that the wastewater is treated to acceptable environmental discharge standards. In this study, the poultry slaughterhouse wastewater (PSW) was treated using two-stage processes consisting of a biological pre-treatment using a biodegrading agent (Eco-flushTM) coupled with a down-flow expanded granular bed reactor (DEGBR). The results showed that the biological pre-treatment was observed to be highly effective for removal of FOG, COD and TSS with a removal efficiency of 80 ± 6.3%, 38 ± 8.4% and 56 ± 7.2%, respectively. The DEGBR showed a stable performance in terms FOG, COD and, TSS removal, with average removal efficiencies of 89 ± 2.8%, 87 ± 9.5%, and 94 ± 3.7%, respectively. The overall removal rate performance of the integrated system of pre-treatment and DEGBR in terms FOG, COD and TSS, was 97 ± 0.8%, 92 ± 6.3% and 97 ± 1.2%. Furthermore, the average volatile fatty acid/alkalinity (VFA/Alkalinity) ratio of 0.2 was reported, which indicated that the DEGBR was stable throughout the operation.