Abstract
An anaerobic contact process incorporating an ultrafiltration (UF) unit was used to treat distillery wastewater characterized by high carbon and nitrogen concentrations and a low carbon to nitrogen (C/N) ratio. By diluting the influent to the fermentor with water (2.6 to 2.8 fold), the ammonia accumulation or inhibition caused by its low C/N ratio was avoided. The UF unit was employed to thicken the sludge without washing out the microbes in the process. The resulting treatment system produced a methane yield of up to 0.6 m3/kg-VS and removed up to 80% of the volatile acids. The process ultimately failed when the UF membrane irrevocably fouled and caused a decrease of microbes in the fermentor. The process can be effective for the treatment of high strength, low C/N wastewater with some modifications, especially for membrane flushing. The quantity of fresh water for dilution could be reduced by filtering the UF filtrate using a reverse osmosis unit. To increase the volatile acids (VA) consumption rate, a two-phase fermentation process incorporating an UF unit may be able to thicken the targeted microbes independently of the microbial kinetics. The UF filtrate contained too high a VA concentration to be released into a waterbody directly; thus, this system needs a secondary treatment system to be considered a total wastewater treatment system.
Original language | English (US) |
---|---|
Pages (from-to) | 709-714 |
Number of pages | 6 |
Journal | Applied Engineering in Agriculture |
Volume | 12 |
Issue number | 6 |
State | Published - 1996 |
Keywords
- Ammonia
- Anaerobic contact process
- C/N ratio
- Distillery wastewater
- Inhibition
- Ultrafiltration
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- General Engineering