Performance of Upflow Anaerobic Bioelectrochemical Reactor Compared to the Sludge Blanket Reactor for Acidic Distillery Wastewater Treatment

Feng, Qing; Song, Young-Chae; Yoo, Kyuseon; Lal, Banwari; Kuppanan, Nanthakumar; Subudhi, Sanjukta; Feng, Qing; Song, Young-Chae; Yoo, Kyuseon; Lal, Banwari; Kuppanan, Nanthakumar; Subudhi, Sanjukta

doi:2016.38.6.279

The Korean text of this paper can be translated into multiple languages on the website of http://jksee.or.kr through Google Translator.

J Korean Soc Environ Eng > Volume 38(6); 2016 > Article

Original Paper

J Korean Soc Environ Eng 2016;38(6): 279-290. doi: https://doi.org/10.4491/KSEE.2016.38.6.279

상향류식 혐기성 슬러지 블랭킷 반응조에 비교한 생물전기화학 반응조의 산성 주정폐수처리성능

풍경¹, 송영채^1,†, 유규선², 반와리 랄³, 난다쿠마르 쿱파난³, 산죽타 수부디³

¹한국해양대학교 환경공학과
²전주대학교 토목환경공학과
³인도 에너지자원연구소

Performance of Upflow Anaerobic Bioelectrochemical Reactor Compared to the Sludge Blanket Reactor for Acidic Distillery Wastewater Treatment

Qing Feng¹, Young-Chae Song^1,†, Kyuseon Yoo², Banwari Lal³, Nanthakumar Kuppanan³, Sanjukta Subudhi³

¹Department of Environmental Engineering, Korea Maritime and Ocean University, Korea
²Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering, Jeonju University, Korea
³Environmental and Industrial Division, The Energy and Resources Institute, India

Corresponding author

Young-Chae Song ,Tel: 051-410-4417, Fax: 051-410-4415, Email: soyc@kmou.ac.kr

Received: March 18, 2016; Revised: April 8, 2016; Accepted: April 11, 2016. Published online: June 30, 2016.

ABSTRACT

The performance of upflow anaerobic bioelectrochemical reactor (UABE), equipped with electrodes (anode and cathode) inside the upflow anaerobic reactor, was compared to that of upflow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB) reactor for the treatment of acidic distillery wastewater. The UASB was stable in pH, alkalinity and VFAs until the organic loading rate (OLR) of 4.0 g COD/L.d, but it became unstable over 4.0 g COD/L.d. As a response to the abrupt doubling in OLR, the perturbation in the state variables for the UABE was smaller, compared to the UASB, and quickly recovered. The UABE stability was better than the UASB at higher OLR of 4.0-8.0 g COD/L.d, and the UABE showed better performance in specific methane production rate (2,076 mL CH₄/L.d), methane content in biogas (66.8%), and COD removal efficiency (82.3%) at 8.0 g COD/L.d than the UASB. The maximum methane yield in UABE was about 407 mL/g COD_r at 4.0 g COD/L.d, which was considerably higher than about 282 mL/g COD_r in UASB. The rate limiting step for the bioelectrochemical reaction in UABE was the oxidation of organic matter on the anode surface, and the electrode reactions were considerably affected by the pH at 8.0 g COD/L.d of high OLR. The maximum energy efficiency of UABE was 99.5%, at 4.0 g COD/L.d of OLR. The UABE can be an advanced high rate anaerobic process for the treatment of acidic distillery wastewater.

Key Words: Acid, Distillery Wastewater, Anaerobic, Bioelectrochemical, Upflow Anaerobic Bioelectrochemical Reactor (UASB)