501
Views
14
CrossRef citations to date
0
Altmetric
Articles

Impact of solids retention time on the biological performance of an AnMBR treating lipid-rich synthetic dairy wastewater

, , , , , & ORCID Icon show all
Pages 597-608 | Received 21 Mar 2019, Accepted 27 Jun 2019, Published online: 11 Jul 2019
 

ABSTRACT

In this study, the impact of applied solids retention time (SRT) on the biological performance of an anaerobic membrane bioreactor (AnMBR) treating synthetic dairy wastewater with high lipid content was assessed. Two side-stream AnMBR systems were operated at an SRT of 20 and 40 days (R20 and R40, respectively), equipped with an inside-out tubular membrane operated in cross-flow mode under full-scale operational conditions, i.e. crossflow velocity, transmembrane pressure, membrane flux. Successful operation was achieved and removal efficiencies of both reactors were up to 99% applying an organic loading rate (OLR) of 4.7 g COD L−1 d−1. No precipitation of lipids was observed throughout the operational period, keeping the lipids available for the anaerobic degradation. Long chain fatty acid (LCFA) accumulation was very modest and amounted 148 and 115 mg LCFA-COD per gram of volatile suspended solids (VSS) for R20 and R40, respectively. At an SRT of 40 days, a slightly better biological conversion was obtained. Periodically performed specific methanogenic activity (SMA) tests showed stabilization of the SMA for R40 sludge, whereas for R20 sludge the SMA continued to decrease. This study revealed a more stable reactor performance operating the AnMBR at an SRT of 40 days compared to 20 days.

GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT

Acknowledgements

The author would like to express the gratitude for the Ph.D. Fellowship award provided by ANII- Uruguay, IHE Delft Institute for Water Education and Latitud - Fundación LATU. This research was funded and supported by Biothane Veolia Water Technologies. Special thanks to Rewin Pale, Basak Donmez and Antonella Piaggio.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Log in via your institution

Log in to Taylor & Francis Online

PDF download + Online access

  • 48 hours access to article PDF & online version
  • Article PDF can be downloaded
  • Article PDF can be printed
USD 61.00 Add to cart

Issue Purchase

  • 30 days online access to complete issue
  • Article PDFs can be downloaded
  • Article PDFs can be printed
USD 223.00 Add to cart

* Local tax will be added as applicable

Related Research

People also read lists articles that other readers of this article have read.

Recommended articles lists articles that we recommend and is powered by our AI driven recommendation engine.

Cited by lists all citing articles based on Crossref citations.
Articles with the Crossref icon will open in a new tab.