Enhancing Biodegradation of Industrial Wastewater into Methane-Rich Biogas Using an Up-Flow Anaerobic Sludge Blanket Reactor
Anaerobic digestion (AD), the oldest technology used for treating waste, converts organic matter into biogas in the absence of oxygen. The current efforts focuses on improving the digestion of a local industrial wastewater to produce biogas and treat water for reuse. A lab-scale up-flow anaerobic sl...
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MDPI AG
2023-03-01
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| Series: | Applied Sciences |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/13/7/4181 |
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| author | Lindokuhle Ngema Devona Sathiyah Emmanuel Kweinor Tetteh Sudesh Rathilal |
| author_facet | Lindokuhle Ngema Devona Sathiyah Emmanuel Kweinor Tetteh Sudesh Rathilal |
| author_sort | Lindokuhle Ngema |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Anaerobic digestion (AD), the oldest technology used for treating waste, converts organic matter into biogas in the absence of oxygen. The current efforts focuses on improving the digestion of a local industrial wastewater to produce biogas and treat water for reuse. A lab-scale up-flow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB) reactor operated at 37 °C was employed for the biodegradation the industrial wastewater. A one-factor-at-a-time (OFAT) approach was used to study the effects of influent chemical oxygen demand (CODin), hydraulic retention time (HRT), and magnetic nanoparticles (magnetite) on UASB biogas and COD elimination from digestate wastewater. The optimum HRT for the biodegradation of municipal wastewater was found to be 21 days with contaminants’ removals of 94%, 90.1%, and 98.9% for COD, color, and turbidity, respectively. The addition of magnetite resulted in 225 mL of cumulative biogas produced with 73% methane content, and treatability efficiency of 85%. The most influential factor was magnetite load, which stimulated the microbial activity via redox catalytic reaction in degrading the high organic wastewater (9590 mg COD/L) into biogas production. The prospects of upgrading lab-scale of this technological concept for bioenergy production is viable to mitigate wastewater management and fossil fuel environmental challenges. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T05:42:44Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-468dd0407d6842f9b38b1406c7ed84aa |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2076-3417 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T05:42:44Z |
| publishDate | 2023-03-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Applied Sciences |
| spelling | doaj.art-468dd0407d6842f9b38b1406c7ed84aa2023-11-17T16:16:40ZengMDPI AGApplied Sciences2076-34172023-03-01137418110.3390/app13074181Enhancing Biodegradation of Industrial Wastewater into Methane-Rich Biogas Using an Up-Flow Anaerobic Sludge Blanket ReactorLindokuhle Ngema0Devona Sathiyah1Emmanuel Kweinor Tetteh2Sudesh Rathilal3Green Engineering Research Group, Department of Chemical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment, Durban University of Technology, Durban 4001, South AfricaGreen Engineering Research Group, Department of Chemical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment, Durban University of Technology, Durban 4001, South AfricaGreen Engineering Research Group, Department of Chemical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment, Durban University of Technology, Durban 4001, South AfricaGreen Engineering Research Group, Department of Chemical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment, Durban University of Technology, Durban 4001, South AfricaAnaerobic digestion (AD), the oldest technology used for treating waste, converts organic matter into biogas in the absence of oxygen. The current efforts focuses on improving the digestion of a local industrial wastewater to produce biogas and treat water for reuse. A lab-scale up-flow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB) reactor operated at 37 °C was employed for the biodegradation the industrial wastewater. A one-factor-at-a-time (OFAT) approach was used to study the effects of influent chemical oxygen demand (CODin), hydraulic retention time (HRT), and magnetic nanoparticles (magnetite) on UASB biogas and COD elimination from digestate wastewater. The optimum HRT for the biodegradation of municipal wastewater was found to be 21 days with contaminants’ removals of 94%, 90.1%, and 98.9% for COD, color, and turbidity, respectively. The addition of magnetite resulted in 225 mL of cumulative biogas produced with 73% methane content, and treatability efficiency of 85%. The most influential factor was magnetite load, which stimulated the microbial activity via redox catalytic reaction in degrading the high organic wastewater (9590 mg COD/L) into biogas production. The prospects of upgrading lab-scale of this technological concept for bioenergy production is viable to mitigate wastewater management and fossil fuel environmental challenges.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/13/7/4181anaerobic digestionbiogasbiodegradationmagnetic nanoparticleswastewater |
| spellingShingle | Lindokuhle Ngema Devona Sathiyah Emmanuel Kweinor Tetteh Sudesh Rathilal Enhancing Biodegradation of Industrial Wastewater into Methane-Rich Biogas Using an Up-Flow Anaerobic Sludge Blanket Reactor Applied Sciences anaerobic digestion biogas biodegradation magnetic nanoparticles wastewater |
| title | Enhancing Biodegradation of Industrial Wastewater into Methane-Rich Biogas Using an Up-Flow Anaerobic Sludge Blanket Reactor |
| title_full | Enhancing Biodegradation of Industrial Wastewater into Methane-Rich Biogas Using an Up-Flow Anaerobic Sludge Blanket Reactor |
| title_fullStr | Enhancing Biodegradation of Industrial Wastewater into Methane-Rich Biogas Using an Up-Flow Anaerobic Sludge Blanket Reactor |
| title_full_unstemmed | Enhancing Biodegradation of Industrial Wastewater into Methane-Rich Biogas Using an Up-Flow Anaerobic Sludge Blanket Reactor |
| title_short | Enhancing Biodegradation of Industrial Wastewater into Methane-Rich Biogas Using an Up-Flow Anaerobic Sludge Blanket Reactor |
| title_sort | enhancing biodegradation of industrial wastewater into methane rich biogas using an up flow anaerobic sludge blanket reactor |
| topic | anaerobic digestion biogas biodegradation magnetic nanoparticles wastewater |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/13/7/4181 |
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