Title of article :
Improved Anaerobic Treatment of Palm Oil Mill Effluent in a Semi-Commercial Closed Digester Tank with Sludge Recycling and Appropriate Feeding Strategy
Author/Authors :
Busu, Zainuri Universiti Putra Malaysia - Faculty of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences - Department of Bioprocess Technology, Malaysia , Sulaiman, Alawi Universiti Putra Malaysia - Faculty of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences - Department of Bioprocess Technology, Malaysia , Hassan, Mohd Ali Universiti Putra Malaysia - Faculty of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences - Department of Bioprocess Technology, Malaysia , Hassan, Mohd Ali Universiti Putra Malaysia - Faculty of Engineering - Department of Process and Food Engineering, Serdang , Shirai, Yoshihito Kyushu Institute of Technology - Graduate School of Life Science and Systems Engineering - Department of Biological Function and Engineering, Japan , Abd-Aziz, Suraini Universiti Putra Malaysia - Faculty of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences - Department of Bioprocess Technology, Malaysia , Yacob, Shahrakbah Universiti Putra Malaysia - Faculty of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences - Department of Bioprocess Technology, Malaysia , Wakisaka, Minato Kyushu Institute of Technology - Graduate School of Life Science and Systems Engineering - Department of Biological Function and Engineering, Japan
Abstract :
Anaerobic treatment of palm oil mill effluent (POME) in a semi-commercial closed digester tank with sludge recycling was studied using different feeding strategies; one fixed at every three hour and another at every six hour. The organic loading rate (OLR) was increased step-wise and stopped once inhibition on methane production occurred. The chemical oxygen demand (COD), feeding rate, hydraulic retention time (HRT), OLR, and sludge recycling ratio were measured. Performance was based on the COD removal efficiency and methane yield, while stability was assessed in terms of total volatile fatty acids (VFA) accumulation, total VFA-to-alkalinity ratio (VFA:Alk) and food-to-microorganisms ratio (F/M ratio). The feeding strategies, at every three hour and six hour, gave satisfactory COD removal efficiency of higher than 90%, but the latter feeding strategy gave a more stable process with total VFA concentration recorded below 500 mg L-1 and VFA:Alk ratio of less than 0.3 at maximum OLR of 6.0 kgCOD m-3 d-1. The treatment period could also be extended up to 100 days without any obvious problems
Keywords :
Anaerobic treatment , biogas , feeding interval , methane , palm oil mill effluent , sludge recycling
Journal title :
Pertanika Journal of Tropical Agricultural Science (JTAS)
Journal title :
Pertanika Journal of Tropical Agricultural Science (JTAS)
