Performance evaluation and energy potential analysis of anaerobic membrane bioreactor (AnMBR) in the treatment of simulated milk wastewater.

An anaerobic membrane bioreactor (AnMBR) was employed as primary treatment unit for anaerobic treatment of simulated wastewater to produce high effluent quality. A lab scale hollow fiber membrane was used to scrutinize the performance of AnMBR as a potential treatment system for simulated milk wastewater and analyze its energy recovery potential. The 15 L bioreactor was operated continuously at mesophilic conditions (35 °C) with a pH constant of 7.0. The membrane flux was in the range of 9.6-12.6 L/m2. h. The different organic loading rates (OLRs) of 1.61, 3.28, 5.01, and 8.38 g-COD/L/d, of simulated milk wastewater, were fed to the reactor and the biogas production rate was analyzed, respectively. The results revealed that the COD removal efficiencies of 99.54 ± 0.001% were achieved at the OLR of 5.01 gCOD/L/d. The highest methane yield was found to be at OLR of 1.61 gCOD/L/d at HRT of 30 d with the value of 0.33 ± 0.01 L-CH4/gCOD. Moreover, based on the analysis of energy balance in the AnMBR system, it was found that energy is positive at all the given HRTs. The net energy production (NEP) ranged from 2.594 to 3.268 kJ/gCOD, with a maximum NEP value of 3.268 kJ/gCOD at HRT 10 d HRT. Bioenergy recovery with the maximum energy ratio, of 4.237, was achieved with an HRT of 5 d. The study suggests a sizable energy saving with the anaerobic membrane process.

Pre-acidification greatly improved granules physicochemical properties and operational stability of Upflow anaerobic sludge Blanket (UASB) reactor treating low-strength starch wastewater.

A two-stage process consisting of a pre-acidification unit and an Upflow Anaerobic Sludge Blanket (UASB) reactor (UASBT-S) was compared with a one-stage UASB reactor (UASBO-S) to evaluate the treatment stability of starch wastewater (SW). The Two-stage process provided higher treatment stability than UASBO-S. Sludge floatation occurred in the UASBO-S when the organic loading rate (OLR) was increased to 4 g-COD/L/d, beyond which a paste-like membrane structure adhered to the granules was observed. Further analysis suggests that the substrate derived polysaccharide components embedded in the loosely-bound extracellular polymeric substances (LB-EPS), triggered significant increase in the protein/polysaccharide ratio in the tightly-bound EPS (TB-EPS), and was suggested to result in the granules floatation and disintegration. During the pre-acidification, the starch was mainly converted to acetic and propionic acids. The pre-acidification was beneficial for reducing the EPS content fluctuations in the UASBT-S, which greatly improved settling capability and strength of the granular sludge.