Optimal Treatment of Molasses Wastewater Using UASB Process

UASB 공정에 의한 당밀폐수의 최적처리 방안

The purpose of this study is to get optimum operating factors of Upflow Anaerobic Sludge Blanket (UASB) reactor by introducing methods that make it to reduce inhibition possible in each process wastewater treatment. The used substrates, concentrated corn starch liquid (CSL) wastewater, modified starch, filtering and decoloring wastewater, ion refining wastewater, and mixed wastewater including modified starch and not including modified starch, are generated from molasses process. The seeding sludge is the digested sludge that had been applied to molasses wastewater. Batch test to reduce the inhibition factors that might be existed in each wastewater was examined. Based on the this test, the optimum operating factors according to alkalinity and pH variation was studied through the continuous test using three 5.5 L UASB reactor. The first reactor added $NaHCO_3$ to control alkalinity. The hydraulic retention time (HRT) reduced to 8 hours and the organic loading rate increased gradually. The second reactor changed the pH of influent from 7.0 to 6.0 using NaOH. The third reactor was operated without changes to compare the above two reactors. As the result, the inhibition in concentrated CSL wastewater was removed by adding iron (II). When trace metals were added to mixed wastewater not including modified starch, the digestability by gas production rate increased to more fifty percentage than mixed wastewater that was not adding the trace metals. The reason that the inhibition did not decreased in spite of adding trace metals and nutrients was influenced by high concentration generated during the acid fermentation. The UASB reactors using the mixed wastewater with the most effective performance were operated as 500 mg/L as $CaCO_3$ alkalinity and 6.0 pH at steady state, and at this time, the gas production rates were 283 and 311mL gas/g $COD_{added}$. The COD removal rates were 84.7 and 86.3%, respectively.