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Anaerobic treatment of low-strength brewery wastewater in expanded granular sludge bed reactor

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Abstract

Anaerobic treatment of low-strength brewery wastewater, with influent total chemical oxygen demand (COD) (CODin) concentrations ranging from 550 to 825 mg/L, was investigated in a pilot-scale 225.5-L expanded granular sludge bed (EGSB) reactor. In an experiment in which the temperature was lowered stepwise from 30 to 12°C, the COD removal efficiency decreased from 73 to 35%, at organic loading rates (OLR) of 11–16.5 g COD/L/d. The applied hydraulic retention time (HRT) and liquid upflow velocity (V up) were 1.2 h and 5.8 m/h, respectively. Under these conditions, the acidified fraction of the CODin varied from 45 to 90%. In addition to the expected drop in reactor performance, problems with sludge retention were also observed. In a subsequent experiment set at 20°C, COD removal efficiecies exceeding 80% were obtained at an OLR up to 12.6 g COD/L/d, with CODin between 630 and 715 mg/L. The values of HRT and V up applied were 2.1–1.2 h, and 4.4–7.2 m/h, respectively. The acidified fraction of the CODin wasabove 90%, but sludge washout was not significant. These results indicate that the EGSB potentials can be further explored for the anaerobic treatment of low-strength brewery wastewater, even at lower temperatures.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Civil Engineering, Federal University of Pernambuco, Av. Acadêmico Hélio Ramos s/n, 50670-530, Recife, PE, Brazil

    Mario T. Kato

  2. Department of Environmental Technology, Wageningen Agricultural University, Wageningen, The Netherlands

    Salih Rebac & Gatze Lettinga

Authors
  1. Mario T. Kato
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  2. Salih Rebac
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  3. Gatze Lettinga
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Correspondence to Mario T. Kato.

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Kato, M.T., Rebac, S. & Lettinga, G. Anaerobic treatment of low-strength brewery wastewater in expanded granular sludge bed reactor. Appl Biochem Biotechnol 76, 15–32 (1999). https://doi.org/10.1385/ABAB:76:1:15

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1385/ABAB:76:1:15

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