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Pilot-scale treatment of a trichloethylene rich synthetic wastewater in anaerobic hybrid reactor, with morphological study of the sludge granules

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Abstract

A pilot-scale research was conducted to study the biodegradation of trichloroethylene (TCE) in anaerobic hybrid reactor (AHR). At an influent TCE and COD concentrations of 50 and 2,000 mg/l, respectively, the AHR showed a maximum 99.93 ± 0.13 and 97.81 ± 0.42 % of TCE and COD removals, respectively, at 24 h of hydraulic retention time. The flocculent sludge (<0.5 mm diameter in size) was gradually converted to compact granular sludge (>2 mm diameter in size) after the completion of the acclimatization study. The biomass growth yield, the maximum substrate (COD), and the maximum co-substrate (TCE) utilization rates were found to be 0.05 mg VSS/mg COD/day, 0.526 mg COD/mg VSS/day, and 0.0125 mg TCE/mg VSS/day, respectively. The AHR has the high potentiality for the treatment of high concentration of TCE present in some industrial wastewater.

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Acknowledgments

The authors are thankful to Professor T. Kumar, Director, Indian School of Mines (ISM), for providing necessary facilities in carrying out this research. ISM fellowship to one of the authors (Shibam Mitra) is gratefully acknowledged.

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Correspondence to Shibam Mitra.

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Mitra, S., Gupta, S.K. Pilot-scale treatment of a trichloethylene rich synthetic wastewater in anaerobic hybrid reactor, with morphological study of the sludge granules. Clean Techn Environ Policy 16, 947–956 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10098-013-0695-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10098-013-0695-2

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