Effectiveness of dairy wastewater treatment in a bioreactor based on the integrated technology of activated sludge and hydrophyte system

The aim of this study was to determine the effectiveness of dairy wastewater treatment in the integrated technology based on the simultaneous use of the activated sludge method (AS) and a hydrophyte system (HS) (AS-HS), in this case, common reed (Phragmites australis) or common cattail (Typha latifolia). Experiments were conducted in an innovative reactor exploited in the fractional-technical scale at the loads of 0.05 mg BOD5/mg.d.m. d (biochemical oxygen demand) and 0.10 mg BOD5/mg.d.m d. The AS--HS enabled improving the removal effectiveness ofbiogenes characterized by concentrations of Ntot., N-NH4 and Ptot. In contrast, the integrated system had no significant reducing effect either on concentrations of organic compounds characterized by BOD5 and chemical oxygen demand parameters or on the structure of AS in the sequencing batch-type reactors.

Respirometric studies on the effectiveness of biogas production from wastewaters originating from dairy, sugar and tanning industry

The objective of the present study was to determine the effectiveness of biogas production during methane fermentation of wastewaters originating from the dairy, tanning and sugar industries, by means ofrespirometric measurements conducted at a temperature of 35 degrees C. Experiments were carried out with the use of model tanks of volume 0.5 dm3. A high production yield of biogas, with methane content exceeding 60%, was achieved in the case of the anaerobic treatment of wastewaters from the dairy and sugar industries. A significantly lower effect was observed in the case of tanning wastewaters. The effectiveness of the fermentation process decreased with increasing loading of the tanks with a feedstock of organic compounds. By loading a model tank with this feedstock, the effectiveness of treatment ranged from 62.8% to 71.4% residual chemical oxygen demand for dairy wastewaters and from 57.9% to 64.1% for sugar industry wastewaters. The efficiency of organic compound removal from tanning wastewaters was below 50%, regardless of the method applied.

Effect of corrosion of steel elements on the treatment of dairy wastewater in a UASB reactor

Experiments were performed in parallel using two laboratory upflow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB) reactors. One of the two reactors was packed with spiral elements made of steel wire with 48% iron content in order to examine the influence of the steel elements on the chemical oxygen demand (COD) and efficiency of phosphorus removal from synthetically prepared dairy wastewater. A strong relationship was found between anaerobic corrosion and efficiency of phosphorus removal. Phosphorus removal in the reactor packed with steel elements was between 16.4% and 64.4% higher than without the steel elements present. The anaerobic corrosion process improved COD removal efficiency by 1.0-3.1%, which was statistically significant. When steel elements were present the methane content of the biogas was increased by 6.7%. Increasing the organic loading rate had a strong effect on the anaerobic efficiency of the dairy wastewater treatment.

A comparison of the technological effectiveness of dairy wastewater treatment in anaerobic UASB reactor and anaerobic reactor with an innovative design

The present research was an investigation of the influence of an innovative design of reactor filled with polyethylene (PE) granulate on model dairy wastewater treatment efficiency under anaerobic conditions compared to that obtained in a typical UASB reactor. The experiment was conducted at laboratory scale. An innovative reactor was designed with the reaction chamber inclined 30 degrees in relation to the ground with upward waste flow and was filled with PE granular material. Raw model dairy wastewater was fed to two anaerobic reactors of different design at the organic loading rate of 4 kg COD m(-3)d(-1). Throughout the experiment, a higher removal efficiency of organic compounds was observed in the reactor with an innovative design and it was higher by 7.1% on average than in the UASB reactor. The total suspended solids was lower in the wastewater treated in the anaerobic reactor with the innovative design. Applying a PE granulated filling in the chamber of the innovative reactor contributed to an even distribution of sludge biomass in the reactor, reducing washout of anaerobic sludge biomass from the reaction chamber and giving a higher organic compounds removal efficiency.

The effect of microwave electromagnetic radiation on organic compounds removal efficiency in a reactor with a biofilm

This article shows the results of research on microwave radiation as a factor affecting organic compounds removal in a reactor with a biofilm. In the experiment a bioreactor was situated inside a microwave tube and there exposed to radiation. Municipal wastes were supplied to the bioreactor from a retention tank, to which they returned having passed through the reactor's packing. The whole system operated in a time cycle comprising a 24-hour detention of the wastewaters supply. The research was based on the specific properties of microwave heating, i.e. their ability to heat only the substances of appropriate dielectric properties. As the reactor was properly constructed and the microwave generator work was synchronised with that of the volumetric pump, microwave energy was directed mostly to the biofilm. It was observed that as a result of microwave radiation the process of organic compounds removal, defined as Chemical Oxygen Demand COD, increased its rate nearly by half. Simultaneously the process efficiency increased by 7.7% at the maximum. While analysing the changes the organic compounds underwent it was revealed that the load in-built in the biomass decreased by over half as a result of microwave radiation input at 2.5 W s(-1), which was optimal under the experimental conditions. Similarly the amount of pollutant remaining in the treated effluent decreased nearly by half, whereas the role of oxidation in removing organic pollutant increased in excess of 25% when compared to the control system.

Nitrogen compounds transformation in the biological filter by means of direct energy supply to the biofilm

The aim of the research was to determine the effect that direct energy supply to the biofilm, which was attached to the packing with its temperature raised, exerts on the course of nitric compounds changes. The experiment was conducted in a laboratory scale. A model reactor which allowed smooth regulations of the packing temperature was used in the experiment. The energy supply was based on the emission of thermal radiation through the reactor's packing to the biofilm. On the basis of the conducted tests it has been found that such a technological solution improves the efficiency of wastewater treatment, nitrification processes in particular. The temperature range between 20 degrees C and 25 degrees C appeared to be optimal for nitrification. At temperatures higher than 25 degrees C anoxic spheres were generated in the deeper layers of the biofilm, which is proved by denitrification.