title: Physical-chemical and biomethanization treatments of wastewater from biodiesel manufacturing.
abstract: The mesophilic anaerobic digestion of wastewater derived from biodiesel manufacturing, in which total chemical oxygen demand (COD total) was found to be 428 g/L, was studied at laboratory scale. Firstly, wastewater was acidified to recover its free fatty acid content. The resulting aqueous phase was then neutralized and subjected to coagulation-flocculation and electrocoagulation to demulsify the remnant organic matter. A 45% and 63% reduction in overall COD total was observed with the acidification-electrocoagulation and acidification-coagulation-flocculation pre-treatments, respectively. However, the anaerobic biodegradability of acidified-electrocoagulated wastewater was found to be the highest (98% COD), while the methane yield coefficient reached a mean value of 297 mL CH(4)/g COD removed (1 atm, 0°C). Moreover, the allowed organic loading rate and the mean methane production rate were considerably higher for acidified-electrocoagulated wastewater. Consequently, the combination of acidification-electrocoagulation with anaerobic digestion might be a good alternative to efficiently purify wastewater derived from biodiesel manufacturing.
authors: Departamento de Química Inorgánica e Ingeniería Química, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Córdoba, Campus Universitario de Rabanales, Edificio C-3, Ctra. Madrid-Cádiz, 14071 Córdoba, Spain.
authors: J A
authors: JA
authors: Siles
authors: M C
authors: MC
authors: Gutiérrez
authors: M A
authors: MA
authors: Martín
authors: A
authors: A
authors: Martín
mesh_terms: D000693:Anaerobiosis; D056804:Biofuels; D005427:Flocculation; D008697:Methane / Q000378:metabolism*; D014873:Water Pollutants / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D056804:Biofuels; D014873:Water Pollutants; D008697:Methane