Evaluation of aerobic and anaerobic treatment of Kraft pulp mill effluent for organochlorines removal

2006 ◽  
Vol 1 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
A. P. Buzzini ◽  
M. A. Nolasco ◽  
A. M. Springer ◽  
E. C. Pires

The purposes of the experiments described in this paper were to evaluate the performance of an upflow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB) activated sludge reactor, both bench scale reactors, in the treatment of wastewaters containing organochlorines compounds, which simulate a kraft plant wastewater. Both reactors received a wastewater prepared with diluted black liquor and a mixture of organochlorines: 2 Chlorophenol (2 CP); 2,4 Dichlorophenol (2,4 DCP); 2,6 Dichlorophenol (2,6 DCP); 2,4,6 Trichlorophenol (2,4,6 TCP); and Tetrachlorocatechol (TeCC). The activated sludge reactor also received 4, 5, 6 Trichloroguaiacol (4, 5, 6 TCG). The chemical oxygen demand (COD) and organochlorine concentrations in the effluent indicated that the two systems displayed a similar performance in terms of COD removal, with average efficiencies of 79% for the UASB reactor and of 77% for the activated sludge reactor. The average individual values for organochlorine removal efficiency, the first figure representing the UASB reactor removal, were: 99.9% and 91% for the 2 CP; 97% and 80% for the 2,4 DCP; 94% and 80% for the 2,6 DCP; 99% and 75% for the 2,4,6 TCP; and 93% and 90% for the TeCC. Both systems showed to be capable of treating pulp plant wastewaters containing chlorophenols, with a certain advantage for the anaerobic system from the standpoint of removal efficiencies.

2013 ◽  
Vol 33 (2) ◽  
pp. 367-378 ◽  
Author(s):  
Estevão Urbinati ◽  
Rose M. Duda ◽  
Roberto A. de Oliveira

In this study it was evaluated the effects of hydraulic retention time (HRT) and Organic Loading Rate (OLR) on the performance of UASB (Upflow Anaerobic Sludge Blanket) reactors in two stages treating residual waters of swine farming. The system consisted of two UASB reactors in pilot scale, installed in series, with volumes of 908 and 188 L, for the first and second stages (R1 and R2), respectively. The HRT applied in the system of anaerobic treatment in two stages (R1 + R2) was of 19.3, 29.0 and 57.9 h. The OLR applied in the R1 ranged from 5.5 to 40.1 kg CODtotal (m³ d)-1. The average removal efficiencies of chemical oxygen demand (COD) and total suspended solids (TSS) ranged, respectively, from 66.3 to 88.2% and 62.5 to 89.3% in the R1, and from 85.5 to 95.5% and 76.4 to 96.1% in the system (R1 + R2). The volumetric production of methane in the system (R1 + R2) ranged from 0.295 to 0.721 m³CH4 (m³ reactor d)-1. It was found that the OLR applied were not limiting to obtain high efficiencies of CODtotal and TSS removal and methane production. The inclusion of the UASB reactor in the second stage contributed to increase the efficiencies of CODtotal and TSS removal, especially, when the treatment system was submitted to the lowest HRT and the highest OLR.


2009 ◽  
Vol 59 (9) ◽  
pp. 1841-1846 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. C. Leitão ◽  
A. M. Araújo ◽  
M. A. Freitas-Neto ◽  
M. F. Rosa ◽  
S. T. Santaella

The market for coconut water causes environmental problems as it is one of the major agro-industrial solid wastes in some developing countries. With the aim of reusing the coconut husk, Embrapa developed a system for processing this raw material. During the dewatering stage Coconut Husk Liquor (CHL) is generated with chemical oxygen demand (COD) varying from 60 to 70 g/L due to high concentrations of sugars and tannins. The present study evaluated the feasibility of anaerobic treatment of CHL through Anaerobic Toxicity Assay and the operation of a lab-scale Upflow Anaerobic Sludge Blanket (UASB) reactor. Results showed that CHL can be treated through a UASB reactor operating with an OLR that reaches up to 10 kg/m3·d and that is maintained stable during the whole operation. With this operational condition, the removal efficiency was higher than 80% for COD and approximately 78% for total tannins, and biogas production was 20 m3 of biogas or 130 KWh per m3 of CHL. Seventy-five percent of the biogas composition was methane and toxicity tests demonstrated that CHL was not toxic to the methanogenic consortia. Conversely, increasing the concentration of CHL leads to increased methanogenic activity.


1997 ◽  
Vol 35 (8) ◽  
pp. 247-253 ◽  
Author(s):  
Herbert H. P. Fang ◽  
Ivan W. C. Lau ◽  
Denis W. C. Chung

The effects of nine common aromatic pollutants from chemical industry on the bioactivity of anaerobic granules were examined. The granules were obtained from an upflow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB) reactor treating wastewater containing colloidal starch. The specific methanogenic activities (SMA) of granules were measured at 37°C in serum vials using 3000 mg/l of colloidal starch as substrate, plus individual pollutants at various concentrations. The toxicity was expressed by the IR50 and IC50 values, i.e. the toxicant/biomass ratio and concentration at which levels the granules exhibited only 50% of their original bioactivities. Results showed that in general the granules exhibited mild resistance to toxicity of aromatic pollutants, probably due to the granules' layered microstructure. The toxicities, which were dependent on the nature of chemical functional group, of the aromatic pollutants were in the following descending order: cresols > phenol > hydroxyphenols/phthalate > benzoate. There was only marginal difference between the toxicity of the steric isomers. For the seven phenolic pollutants, the more hydrophobic the functional group the higher the toxicity. The granules' resistance to toxicity suggested the plausibility of anaerobic treatment of wastewater from the chemical industry.


2012 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 59-67 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. C. Vieira ◽  
M. von Sperling

We aimed to evaluate the performance and cost savings of an innovative design of a trickling filter (TF) for small population sizes, developed at the Federal University of Minas Gerais, Brazil referred to as an open trickling filter (OTF). The OTF had no side walls and no perforated bottom slab, and was applied for the post-treatment of sanitary sewage from an upflow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB) reactor. The OTF had crushed-stone packing (3.5 m high) and was operated with an average surface hydraulic loading rate of 4.1 m3 m−2 d−1 and an average volumetric organic loading rate of 0.10 kg BOD m−3 d−1 (biochemical oxygen demand). The average concentrations obtained at the OTF effluent were 48 mg TSS L−1 (total suspended solids), 132 mg COD L−1 (chemical oxygen demand), 51 mg BOD L−1, 19 mg TKN L−1 (total Kjeldahl nitrogen), 16 mg NH4+-N L−1 and 10 mg NO3−-N L−1, complying with local discharge standards. Analysis of the construction costs indicated savings of 74% compared to conventional TF. Based on the performance, compactness, simplicity and reduced capital costs, it is believed that the proposed OTF is a good alternative for small communities, especially in developing countries.


2020 ◽  
Vol 81 (9) ◽  
pp. 1951-1960 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. S. Cabral ◽  
A. L. Sanson ◽  
R. J. C. F. Afonso ◽  
C. A. L. Chernicharo ◽  
J. C. Araújo

Abstract Two bioreactors were investigated as an alternative for the post-treatment of effluent from an upflow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB) reactor treating domestic sewage, aiming at dissolved sulfide and methane removal. The bioreactors (R-control and R-air) were operated at different hydraulic retention times (HRT; 6 and 3 h) with or without aeration. Large sulfide and methane removal efficiencies were achieved by the microaerated reactor at HRT of 6 h. At this HRT, sulfide removal efficiencies were equal to 61% and 79%, and methane removal efficiencies were 31% and 55% for R-control and R-air, respectively. At an HRT of 3 h, sulfide removal efficiencies were 22% (R-control) and 33% (R-air) and methane removal did not occur. The complete oxidation of sulfide, with sulfate formation, prevailed in both phases and bioreactors. However, elemental sulfur formation was more predominant at an HRT of 6 h than at an HRT of 3 h. Taken together, the results show that post-treatment improved the anaerobic effluent quality in terms of chemical oxygen demand and solids removal. However, ammoniacal nitrogen was not removed due to either the low concentration of air provided or the absence of microorganisms involved in the nitrogen cycle.


1999 ◽  
Vol 40 (1) ◽  
pp. 77-84 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. H. P. Fang ◽  
D. Wai-Chung Chung

Experiments were conducted in two 2.8 liter UASB (upflow anaerobic sludge blanket) reactors treating proteinaceous wastewaters at 37° and 55°C with 9 hours of hydraulic retention. Results showed that the mesophilic reactor consistently removed 83.5-85.1% of COD (chemical oxygen demand) at loading rates ranging 8-22 g COD l−1 d−1 (corresponding to 3000-8250 mg l−1 of proteinaceous COD in wastewater), whereas the thermophilic reactor removed only 68.5-82.7%. At 32 g COD l−1 d−1 (i.e. 12000 mg COD l−1), the removal efficiencies were lowered to 75.7% in the mesophilic reactor and 65.1% in the thermophilic reactor. At 42 g COD l−1 d−1, severe sludge washout occurred in the mesophilic reactor; at the same loading rate, the thermophilic reactor removed only 53.8% of COD even though sludge washout was under control. The degradation rate in the both reactors was limited by the initial hydrolysis of proteins. However, batch tests showed that thermophilic sludge had slightly higher methanogenic activities than mesophilic sludge in treating proteins and intermediate acids, except propionate. The sludge yields in mesophilic and thermophilic reactors were 0.066 and 0.099 g VSS g COD−1, respectively. Observations by scanning electron microscopy indicated that both types of sludge granules were of irregular shape. There was little noticeable difference between the two granules; both had neither a layered microstructure nor a predominant bacterial species.


2012 ◽  
Vol 65 (10) ◽  
pp. 1887-1894 ◽  
Author(s):  
V. Singh ◽  
A. K. Mittal

This study reports applicability of upflow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB) process to treat the leachate from a municipal landfill located in Delhi. A laboratory scale reactor was operated at an organic loading rate of 3.00 kg chemical oxygen demand (COD)/m3 d corresponding to a hydraulic retention time (HRT) of 12 h for over 8 months. The effect of toxicity of leachate, and feed composition on the treatability of leachate was evaluated. Average COD of the leachate, during the study period varied between 8,880 and 66,420 mg/l. Toxicity of the leachate used during a period of 8 months varied from LC50 1.22 to 12.35 for 96 h. The removal efficiency of soluble COD ranged between 91 and 67% for fresh leachate and decreased drastically from 90 to 35% for old leachate having high toxicity. The efficiency varied from 81 to 65%. The reactor performed more efficiently for the treatment of fresh leachate (less toxic, LC50 11.64, 12.35, and 12.15 for 96 h) as compared with old leachate (more toxic, LC50 1.22 for 96 h). Toxicity of the leachate affected its treatment potential by the UASB.


2004 ◽  
Vol 31 (3) ◽  
pp. 420-431 ◽  
Author(s):  
S K Patidar ◽  
Vinod Tare

The effect of micro-nutrients, such as Fe, Ni, Zn, Co, and Mo, on anaerobic degradation of sulfate laden organics was investigated using bench-scale models of upflow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB) reactor, anaerobic baffled reactor (ABR), and hybrid anaerobic baffled reactor (HABR), operating in varying conditions in ten phases (organic loading of 1.9–5.75 kg COD/(m3·d), sulfate loading of 0.54–1.88 kg SO42–/(m3·d), chemical oxygen demand (COD):SO42–ratio of 2.0–8.6). In the initial phase, no nutrient limitation was observed with COD removal of more than 94% in all three systems. Subsequently, increase in sulfate loading resulted in Ni and Co limitation and their supplementation restored COD removal in UASB system. However, baffled systems did not recover because of severe inhibition by sulfide. Results indicate that precipitation of nutrients could seriously deteriorate process performance, leading to failure even before sulfide concentration attains toxic level. The limitation of Fe coupled with high sulfate loading (1.88 kg SO42–/(m3·d)) resulted in growth of low-density, fragile, hollow, and granular biomass in UASB that washed out and caused process instability. Supplementation of Fe with other nutrients stabilized UASB process and also improved COD removal.Key words: anaerobic degradation, nutrients, UASB, ABR, HABR, sulfide toxicity, sulfate laden organics.


2019 ◽  
Vol 14 (4) ◽  
pp. 908-920 ◽  
Author(s):  
Oliver Saavedra ◽  
Ramiro Escalera ◽  
Gustavo Heredia ◽  
Renato Montoya ◽  
Ivette Echeverría ◽  
...  

Abstract This study aims to determine the seasonal variability in the performance of a medium size population wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) in Bolivia. The semi-arid area where the WWTP is located is characterized as agricultural land, with an annual rainfall of 500 mm and a mean temperature of 17 °C. The WWTP is built up of five modules, each one comprising two treatment trains composed of an upflow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB) reactor and horizontal gravel filter. The performance of the full process has been determined based on water quantity and quality. Seven monitoring campaigns of chemical and physical wastewater characteristics were performed from March to December 2017. The measured effluent showed average removal efficiencies of 83 ± 8% and 37 ± 60% for total chemical oxygen demand (COD) and total suspended solids (TSS), respectively. The treatment system has proven to be efficient to remove organic matter and TSS, despite the occurrence of high COD and total solids (TS) influent concentrations, the accumulation of solids at all the processes and the variability of flow and temperature inside the UASB reactors. In order to improve further this efficiency, it is recommended to implement a primary sedimentation unit as a pretreatment for the UASB system that would help to homogenize both the flow and the quality of the influent.


2013 ◽  
Vol 67 (1) ◽  
pp. 24-32 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tarek Elmitwalli

Although the upflow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB) reactor has been widely applied for domestic wastewater treatment in many developing countries, there is no sufficient mathematical model for proper design and operation of the reactor. An empirical model based on non-linear regression was developed to represent the physical and chemical removal of suspended solids (SS) in the reactor. Moreover, a simplified dynamic model based on ADM1 and the empirical model for SS removal was developed for anaerobic digestion of the entrapped SS and dissolved matter in the wastewater. The empirical model showed that effluent suspended chemical oxygen demand (CODss) concentration is directly proportional to the influent CODss concentration and inversely proportional to both the hydraulic retention time (HRT) of the reactor and wastewater temperature. For obtaining sufficient CODss removal, the HRT of the UASB reactor must be higher than 4 h, and higher HRT than 12 h slightly improved CODss removal. The dynamic model results showed that the required time for filling the reactor with sludge mainly depends on influent total chemical oxygen demand (CODt) concentration and HRT. The influent CODt concentration, HRT and temperature play a crucial role on the performance of the reactor. The results indicated that shorter HRT is needed for optimization of CODt removal, as compared with optimization of CODt conversion to methane. Based on the model results, the design HRT of the UASB reactor should be selected based on the optimization of wastewater conversion and minimization of biodegradable SS accumulation in the sludge bed, not only based on COD removal, to guarantee a stable reactor performance.


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