scholarly journals Anaerobic treatment of coconut husk liquor for biogas production

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.


2015 ◽  
Vol 72 (8) ◽  
pp. 1383-1389 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. M. Nakazawa ◽  
W. R. S. Silva Júnior ◽  
M. T. Kato ◽  
S. Gavazza ◽  
L. Florencio

In this study, we evaluated the use of an up-flow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB) reactor to treat crude glycerol obtained from cottonseed biodiesel production. The laboratory-scale UASB reactor (7.0 L) was operated at ambient temperature of 26.5°C with chemical oxygen demand (COD) concentrations between 0.5 and 8.0 g/L. The volatile fatty acid contents, pH, inorganic salt contents and biogas production were monitored during a 280-day experimental period. Molecular biology techniques were used to assess the microbial diversity in the bioreactor. The reactor achieved COD removal efficiencies of up to 92% except during one phase when the efficiency decreased to 81%. Biogas production remained stable throughout the experimental period, when the fraction converted to methane reached values as high as 68%. The profile of the denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) bands suggested slight changes in the microbial community during reactor operation. The overall results indicated that the crude glycerol from biodiesel production can serve as a suitable substrate for anaerobic degradation with a stable reactor performance and biogas production as long as the applied organic loads are up to 8.06 kg COD/m3·d.


2009 ◽  
Vol 59 (11) ◽  
pp. 2265-2272 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Satyanarayan ◽  
A. Karambe ◽  
A. P. Vanerkar

Herbal pharmaceutical industry has grown tremendously in the last few decades. As such, literature on the treatment of this wastewater is scarce. Water pollution control problems in the developing countries need to be solved through application of cost effective aerobic/anaerobic biological systems. One such system—the upflow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB) process which is known to be cost effective and where by-product recovery was also feasible was applied for treatment of a high strength wastewater for a period of six months in a pilot scale upflow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB) reactor with a capacity of 27.44 m3. Studies were carried out at various organic loading rates varying between 6.26 and 10.33 kg COD/m3/day and hydraulic retention time (HRT) fluctuating between 33 and 43 hours. This resulted in chemical oxygen demand (COD), biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) and suspended solids (SS) removal in the range of 86.2%–91.6%, 90.0%–95.2% and 62.6%–68.0% respectively. The biogas production varied between 0.32–0.47 m3/kg COD added. Sludge from different heights of UASB reactor was collected and subjected to scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The results indicated good granulation with efficient UASB reactor performance.


2011 ◽  
Vol 64 (10) ◽  
pp. 1959-1966 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. Syutsubo ◽  
W. Yoochatchaval ◽  
I. Tsushima ◽  
N. Araki ◽  
K. Kubota ◽  
...  

In this study, continuous operation of a pilot-scale upflow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB) reactor for sewage treatment was conducted for 630 days to investigate the physical and microbial characteristics of the retained sludge. The UASB reactor with a working volume of 20.2 m3 was operated at ambient temperature (16–29 °C) and seeded with digested sludge. After 180 days of operation, when the sewage temperature had dropped to 20 °C or lower, the removal efficiency of both total suspended solids (TSS) and total biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) deteriorated due to washout of retained sludge. At low temperature, the cellulose concentration of the UASB sludge increased owing to the rate limitation of the hydrolytic reaction of suspended solids in the sewage. However, after an improvement in sludge retention (settleability and concentration) in the UASB reactor, the process performance stabilized and gave sufficient results (68% of TSS removal, 75% of total BOD removal) at an hydraulic retention time (HRT) of 9.7 h. The methanogenic activity of the retained sludge significantly increased after day 246 due to the accumulation of Methanosaeta and Methanobacterium following the improvement in sludge retention in the UASB reactor. Acid-forming bacteria from phylum Bacteroidetes were detected at high frequency; thus, these bacteria may have an important role in suspended solids degradation.


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.


2011 ◽  
Vol 64 (3) ◽  
pp. 610-617 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tarek Elmitwalli ◽  
Ralf Otterpohl

The treatment of grey water in two upflow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB) reactors, operated at different hydraulic retention times (HRTs) and temperatures, was investigated. The first reactor (UASB-A) was operated at ambient temperature (14–25 °C) and HRT of 20, 12 and 8 h, while the second reactor (UASB-30) was operated at controlled temperature of 30 °C and HRT of 16, 10 and 6 h. The two reactors were fed with grey water from ‘Flintenbreite’ settlement in Luebeck, Germany. When the grey water was treated in the UASB reactor at 30 °C, total chemical oxygen demand (CODt) removal of 52–64% was achieved at HRT between 6 and 16 h, while at lower temperature lower removal (31–41%) was obtained at HRT between 8 and 20 h. Total nitrogen and phosphorous removal in the UASB reactors were limited (22–36 and 10–24%, respectively) at all operational conditions. The results showed that at increasing temperature or decreasing HRT of the reactors, maximum specific methanogenic activity of the sludge in the reactors improved. As the UASB reactor showed a significantly higher COD removal (31–64%) than the septic tank (11–14%) even at low temperature, it is recommended to use UASB reactor instead of septic tank (the most common system) for grey water pre-treatment. Based on the achieved results and due to high peak flow factor, a HRT between 8 and 12 h can be considered the suitable HRT for the UASB reactor treating grey water at temperature 20–30 °C, while a HRT of 12–24 h can be applied at temperature lower than 20 °C.


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.


2012 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
pp. 57-62
Author(s):  
Fiza Sarwar ◽  
Wajeeha Malik ◽  
Muhammad Salman Ahmed ◽  
Harja Shahid

Abstract: This study was designed using actual effluent from the sugary mills in an Up-flow Anaerobic Sludge Blanket (UASB) Reactor to evaluate treatability performance. The reactor was started-up in step-wise loading rates beginning from 0.05kg carbon oxygen demand (COD)/m3-day to 3.50kg-COD/m3-day. The hydraulic retention time (HRT) was slowly decreased from 96 hrs to eight hrs. It was observed that the removal efficiency of COD of more than 73% can be easily achieved at an HRT of more than 16 hours corresponding to an average organic loading rate (OLR) of 3.0kg-COD/m3-day, at neutral pH and constant temperature of 29°C. The average VFAs (volatile fatty acids) and biogas production was observed as 560mg/L and 1.6L/g-CODrem-d, respectively. The average methane composition was estimated as 62%. The results of this study suggest that the treatment of sugar mills effluent with the anaerobic technology seems to be more reliable, effective and economical.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3126/hn.v9i0.7075 Hydro Nepal Vol.9 July 2011 57-62


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.


2013 ◽  
Vol 634-638 ◽  
pp. 182-186
Author(s):  
Juan Wang ◽  
Qin Zhong

With the aim to use anaerobic granular sludge, the methanogenic activity inhibition and recovery of anaerobic granular sludge from an industrial anaerobic reactor (s1) were investigated by measuring the methane volume at low pH. A lab-scale upflow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB) reactor was inoculated with s1.s1 was used to remove Zn2+ in wastewater. The results show that activity of s1 is similar when the pH value is 6.5 to 7.0. The methane volume is obviously decreased when the pH value is 6.0. The activity is completely inhibited when the pH value is 4.5. The activity is fully recovered when the pH is above 6.5 and hardly recovers when the pH fell to 4.5. The main Zn2+ removal mechanism is chemical adsorption.


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