• Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers
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• v.38 no.6
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• pp.279-290
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• 2016

The performance of upflow anaerobic bioelectrochemical reactor (UABE), equipped with electrodes (anode and cathode) inside the upflow anaerobic reactor, was compared to that of upflow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB) reactor for the treatment of acidic distillery wastewater. The UASB was stable in pH, alkalinity and VFAs until the organic loading rate (OLR) of 4.0 g COD/L.d, but it became unstable over 4.0 g COD/L.d. As a response to the abrupt doubling in OLR, the perturbation in the state variables for the UABE was smaller, compared to the UASB, and quickly recovered. The UABE stability was better than the UASB at higher OLR of 4.0-8.0 g COD/L.d, and the UABE showed better performance in specific methane production rate (2,076mL $CH_4/L.d$), methane content in biogas (66.8%), and COD removal efficiency (82.3%) at 8.0 g COD/L.d than the UASB. The maximum methane yield in UABE was about 407mL/g $COD_r$ at 4.0 g COD/L.d, which was considerably higher than about $282mL/g\;COD_r$ in UASB. The rate limiting step for the bioelectrochemical reaction in UABE was the oxidation of organic matter on the anode surface, and the electrode reactions were considerably affected by the pH at 8.0 g COD/L.d of high OLR. The maximum energy efficiency of UABE was 99.5%, at 4.0 g COD/L.d of OLR. The UABE can be an advanced high rate anaerobic process for the treatment of acidic distillery wastewater.

• Journal of the Korea Organic Resources Recycling Association
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• v.19 no.1
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• pp.123-130
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• 2011

Objectives of this study were to compare the environmental effects of digestates produced in bioenergy village on the rice paddy field for recycling. Digestates were applied to the soils and the soil properties and the crop responses were analyzed according to the standard methods of soil evaluation. Plant height and the number of tiller showed similar results in both the conventional and digestate treated field, and the yield of rough rice was higher in the field treated with digestates than that with chemical fertilizer. The amounts of nitrogen absorbed in straw and grain were larger in the digestates-treated field than chemical fertilizer-treated one, and efficiency of nitrogen applied was shown to be the highest in 100% treated digestate of the pig manure. Exchangeable cation and pH increased in the soil treated with digestate after harvesting, but salt was not accumulated. With these results, it was concluded that resource recycling in green town can be facilitated through the securement of arable lands for the application of digestates and the proper use of these fertilizers. Long-term effects of digestate application on the soil environment should be sustainingly studied.