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Influence of Zeolite Support on Integrated Biodegradation and Photodegradation of Molasses Wastewater for Organic Load Reduction and Colour Removal

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Phyto and Rhizo Remediation

Part of the book series: Microorganisms for Sustainability ((MICRO,volume 9))

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Abstract

Molasses wastewater (MWW) is characterised by a biorecalcitrant dark brown colour caused by melanoidin pigments and a high organic load. Anaerobic digestion (AD), mostly applied as a first step treatment method for MWW, can effectively remove the high organic load, but with minimal colour mitigation. Photodegradation is among the preferred advanced treatment methods to complement AD for the colour abatement. This study looked into the effect of employing zeolite as a biomass and catalyst support in AD and photodegradation, respectively. Zeolite was applied in a fixed bed bioreactor for biodegradation, while a composite of TiO2/zeolite catalyst was prepared and used in a fluidised bed photoreactor. The zeolite and TiO2 were characterised using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) where it was found that the zeolite surface area and pore volume were almost twice that of TiO2. Introduction of zeolite improved chemical oxygen demand (COD) reduction by 20% during AD with a fivefold increase in biogas production. However, a 40% increase in colour was recorded during AD due to a possible re-polymerisation of the recalcitrant colour-causing melanoidins. The photodegradation process was effective in colour remediation with 99% colour removed on employing the TiO2/zeolite composite catalyst, as compared to 44% removed when TiO2 was solely used. Degradation of melanoidins into simpler products was responsible for the colour disappearance. Zeolite due to its large specific surface area and good adsorption properties was found suitable for application as a biomass and catalyst support in AD and photodegradation, respectively.

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Acknowledgement

Water Research Commission (WRC, Project No. K5/2773/3), Sasol and NRF, all from South Africa, are acknowledged for financial support.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centre for Renewable Energy and Water, Vaal University of Technology, Vanderbijlpark, South Africa

    Seth Apollo, Benton Otieno & Aoyi Ochieng

  2. Department of Chemical and Metallurgical Engineering, Tshwane University of Technology, Pretoria, South Africa

    Maurice Onyango

Authors
  1. Seth Apollo
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  2. Benton Otieno
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  3. Maurice Onyango
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  4. Aoyi Ochieng
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Environmental Science, School of Environmental Sciences, Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar University, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India

    Naveen Kumar Arora

  2. Department of Environmental Science, School for Environmental Sciences, Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar University, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India

    Narendra Kumar

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Apollo, S., Otieno, B., Onyango, M., Ochieng, A. (2019). Influence of Zeolite Support on Integrated Biodegradation and Photodegradation of Molasses Wastewater for Organic Load Reduction and Colour Removal. In: Arora, N., Kumar, N. (eds) Phyto and Rhizo Remediation. Microorganisms for Sustainability, vol 9. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-32-9664-0_12

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