Performance and kinetics analysis of an aerobic sequencing batch flexible fibre biofilm reactor for milk processing wastewater treatment

Mohamed Abdulgader; Qiming Jimmy Yu; Ali Akbar Zinatizadeh; Philip Williams; Zahra Rahimi

doi:10.1016/j.jenvman.2019.109793

Performance and kinetics analysis of an aerobic sequencing batch flexible fibre biofilm reactor for milk processing wastewater treatment

J Environ Manage. 2020 Feb 1:255:109793. doi: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2019.109793. Epub 2019 Nov 27.

Authors

Mohamed Abdulgader¹, Qiming Jimmy Yu², Ali Akbar Zinatizadeh³, Philip Williams², Zahra Rahimi⁴

Affiliations

¹ School of Engineering and Built Environment, Griffith University, Nathan Campus, QLD, 4111, Australia. Electronic address: m.abdulgader@griffith.edu.au.
² School of Engineering and Built Environment, Griffith University, Nathan Campus, QLD, 4111, Australia.
³ Environmental Research Center (ERC), Department of Applied Chemistry, Faculty of Chemistry, Razi University, Kermanshah, Iran; Department of Environmental Sciences, University of South Africa, Pretoria, South Africa.
⁴ Environmental Research Center (ERC), Department of Applied Chemistry, Faculty of Chemistry, Razi University, Kermanshah, Iran.

PMID: 31785460
DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2019.109793

Abstract

In this study, a sequencing batch flexible fibre biofilm reactor (SB-FFBR) is used for efficient and cost-effective treatment of milk processing wastewater (MPW). The SB-FFBR, modified type of a typical sequencing batch reactor (SBR), is made up of eight bundles of flexible fibre as a supporting media for microorganisms'growth. The working volume and the cycle length of the bioreactor are 8 L and 24 h, respectively. The biological performance of the bioreactor is studied at 10, 3 and 10 various levels of the influent chemical oxygen demand (COD_in; 610-8193 mg L^-1), retention time (RT; 1, 1.6 and 2 days), and organic loading rate (OLR; 0.38-8.19 gCOD m^-3d^-1), respectively. From the results, the minimum COD and total suspended solids (TSS) removal efficiency of 86.8% and 77.3% were achieved at OLR of 8.2 kg COD m^-3d^-1, COD_in of 8193 mg L^-1 and RT of 1 day. While, an excellent COD and TSS removal efficiency were found to be 97.5% and 99.3%, respectively, at low OLR of 0.4 kg COD m^-3d^-1, COD_in of 945 mg L^-1 and RT of 2 days. Furthermore, the kinetic coefficients of COD removal were computed using a first order substrate removal model at different COD concentrations. The first order kinetic constant, (k), was 0.60, 0.65 and 0.357 h^-1 for 500, 810 and 2000 mg COD L^-1, respectively. The use of the flexible fibre as a packing material provided a huge surface area for more microorganism attachment. Therefore, the results demonstrated the SB-FFBR has acted as a suitable and effective strategy in treatment of milk processing industrial wastewater.

Keywords: Biofilm; COD removal; Flexible fibre; Milk processing wastewater; SB-FFBR.

MeSH terms

Animals
Biofilms
Bioreactors
Industrial Waste
Kinetics
Milk
Waste Disposal, Fluid*
Wastewater*

Substances

Industrial Waste
Waste Water