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Biomethanation of low pH petrochemical wastewater using up-flow fixed-film anaerobic bioreactors

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Abstract

Anaerobic digestion of wastewater from a petrochemical plant, manufacturing Nylon-6 was studied in continuously fed up-flow fixed-film column reactors using different biomass support materials such as bonechar, charcoal, bricks, plastic beads and polyurethane foam under varying hydraulic and organic loading rates. Experimental results showed bonechar as the best support material with high biomass-retaining capacity because of its high specific surface area (53.35 m2 g−1 of bedding material) and pore specific volume (0.244 cm3 g−1 of bedding material). This system could treat waste water at hydraulic retention times (HRT) as low as 2.5 days with organic loading rates as high as 21.76 kg COD m−3 day−1 using acidic feed of pH 2.5 resulting in a 95% COD reduction with biogas production of 11.76 m3 m−3 of reactor volume day−1. Total alkalinity of 1700 mg CaCO3 l−1 and pH of 7.5 of the treated wastewater were observed at 2.5 days HRT, indicating that methanogenesis appear to be alkalizing step and wastewater with pH as low as 2.5 can be treated as such without neutralization with retention of methanogenic biomass on bonechar.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Post-Graduate Department of Biosciences, Sardar Patel University, Vallabh Vidyanagar, 388120, Gujarat, India

    Hardik Patel & Datta Madamwar

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  1. Hardik Patel
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  2. Datta Madamwar
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Patel, H., Madamwar, D. Biomethanation of low pH petrochemical wastewater using up-flow fixed-film anaerobic bioreactors. World Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology 16, 69–75 (2000). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1008999420741

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