IngentaConnect Anaerobic treatment of low-strength brewery wastewater in expande...

Authors: Kato, Mario¹; Rebac, Salih²; Lettinga, Gatze²

Source: Applied Biochemistry and Biotechnology, Volume 76, Number 1, February 1999 , pp. 15-32(18)

Abstract:

Anaerobic treatment of low-strength brewery wastewater, with influent total chemical oxygen demand (COD) (COD_in) concentrations ranging from 550 to 825 mg/L, was investigated in a pilot-scale 225.5-L expanded granular sludge bed (EGSB) reactor. In an experiment in which the temperature was lowered stepwise from 30 to 12°C, the COD removal efficiency decreased from 73 to 35%, at organic loading rates (OLR) of 11-16.5 g COD/L/d. The applied hydraulic retention time (HRT) and liquid upflow velocity (V _up) were 1.2 h and 5.8 m/h, respectively. Under these conditions, the acidified fraction of the COD_in varied from 45 to 90%. In addition to the expected drop in reactor performance, problems with sludge retention were also observed. In a subsequent experiment set at 20°C, COD removal efficiecies exceeding 80% were obtained at an OLR up to 12.6 g COD/L/d, with COD_in between 630 and 715 mg/L. The values of HRT and V _up applied were 2.1-1.2 h, and 4.4-7.2 m/h, respectively. The acidified fraction of the COD_in wasabove 90%, but sludge washout was not significant. These results indicate that the EGSB potentials can be further explored for the anaerobic treatment of low-strength brewery wastewater, even at lower temperatures.

Keywords: Anaerobic treatment; expanded granular sludge bed reactor; brewery wastewater; acidified low-strength wastewater; low temperature

Document Type: Research article

DOI: 10.1385/ABAB:76:1:15

Affiliations: 1: Department of Civil Engineering, Federal University of Pernambuco, Av. Acadêmico Hélio Ramos s/n, 50670-530, Recife, PE, Brazil, Email: kato@npd.ufpe.br 2: Department of Environmental Technology, Wageningen Agricultural University, Wageningen, The Netherlands,

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Anaerobic treatment of low-strength brewery wastewater in expanded granular sludge bed reactor