• Korean Journal of Environmental Agriculture
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.171-176
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• 2000

A wastewater treatment pond system was developed for treatment and recycling of dairy cattle excreta of $5\;m^1$ per day. The wastes were diluted by the water used for clearing stalls. The system was composed of three ponds in series. A submerged gas collector for the recovery of methane was installed at the bottom of secondary pond with water depth of 2.4m. This paper deals mainly with performance of methane fermentation of secondary pond which is faclutative one. The average $BOD_5$, SS, TN, and TP concentrations of influent into secondary pond were 49.1, 53.4, 48.6, and 5.3 mg/l, and those of effluent from it were 27.9, 45.7, 30.8, 3.2 mg/l respectively. Methane fermentation of 2.4-meter-deep secondary pond bottom was well established at $16^{\circ}C$ and gas garnered from the collector at that temperature was 80% methane. Literature on methane fermentation of wastewater treatment ponds shows that methane bacteria grow well around $24^{\circ}C$, the rate of daily accumulation and decomposition of sludge is approximately equal at $19^{\circ}C$, and activities of methanogenic bacteria are ceased below $14^{\circ}C$. The good methane fermentation of the pond bottom around $16^{\circ}C$, about $3^{\circ}C$ lower than $19^{\circ}C$, results from temperature stability, anaerobic condition, and neutral pH of the bottom sludge layer. It is recommended that the depth of pond water could be 2.4m. Gas from the collector during active methane fermentation was almost 83% methane, less than 17% nitrogen. Carbon dioxide was less than 1% of the gas, which indicates that carbon dioxide produced in bottom sludges was dissolved in the overlaying water column. Thus a purified methane can be collected and used as energy source. Sludge accumulation on the pond bottom for a nine month period was 1.3cm and annual sludge depth can be estimated to be 1.7cm. Design of additional pond depth of 0.3m can lead to 15 - 20 year sludge removal.