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Influence of dilution and phase separation on the anaerobic digestion of olive mill wastewaters

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Abstract

The high organic content of Olive Mill Wastewaters (OMW) causes some difficulties in maintaining the anaerobic process efficiency at high level. The two phase anaerobic system was used to treat olive mill wastewaters, diluted with tap water. Phase separation was accomplished through control of the hydraulic retention time and initial COD removal in two reactors operated in series. The effect of substrate concentration and phase separation on removal efficiency has been investigated. Experimental results indicated that yield of 0.322 to 0.335 litre biogas/g COD removal were obtained with two phase anaerobic treatment and space loading rate of 2.3 and 2.4 gCOD/l.day. The maximum methane production rate near to the theoretical value and corresponded to 360 ml of CH4 for 1g COD removal.

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Abbreviations

OMW:

Olive Mill Wastewaters

VFA:

Volatile Fatty Acid

COD:

Chemical Oxygen Demand

HRT:

High Retention Time

TKN:

Total Kjeldahl Nitrogen

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  1. Faculte des sciences de Sfax, BP-W, 3038, Sfax, Tunisie

    N. Gharsallah

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  1. N. Gharsallah
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Gharsallah, N. Influence of dilution and phase separation on the anaerobic digestion of olive mill wastewaters. Bioprocess Engineering 10, 29–34 (1994). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00373532

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