Treatment of natural rubber processing wastewater using a combination system of a two-stage up-flow anaerobic sludge blanket and down-flow hanging sponge system.
A pilot-scale experiment of natural rubber processing wastewater treatment was conducted using a combination system consisting of a two-stage up-flow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB) and a down-flow hanging sponge (DHS) reactor for more than 10 months. The system achieved a chemical oxygen demand (COD) removal efficiency of 95.7% ± 1.3% at an organic loading rate of 0.8 kg COD/(m(3).d). Bacterial activity measurement of retained sludge from the UASB showed that sulfate-reducing bacteria (SRB), especially hydrogen-utilizing SRB, possessed high activity compared with methane-producing bacteria (MPB). Conversely, the acetate-utilizing activity of MPB was superior to SRB in the second stage of the reactor. The two-stage UASB-DHS system can reduce power consumption by 95% and excess sludge by 98%. In addition, it is possible to prevent emissions of greenhouse gases (GHG), such as methane, using this system. Furthermore, recovered methane from the two-stage UASB can completely cover the electricity needs for the operation of the two-stage UASB-DHS system, accounting for approximately 15% of the electricity used in the natural rubber manufacturing process.
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, National Institute of Technology, Kure College, 2-2-11 Aga-minami, Kure 731-4331, Japan E-mail: tanikawa@kure-nct.ac.jp.
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Tanikawa
Center for Regional Environmental Research, National Institute for Environmental Studies, 16-2 Onogawa, Tsukuba 305-8506, Japan.
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Syutsubo
Department of Environmental System Engineering, Nagaoka University of Technology, 1603-1 Kamitomioka, Nagaoka 940-2188, Japan.
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Hatamoto
Department of Bioengineering, Nagaoka University of Technology, 1603-1 Kamitomioka, Nagaoka 940-2188, Japan.
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Fukuda
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Tohoku University, 6-6-06 Aoba, Sendai 980-8579, Japan.
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Takahashi
Department of Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Khon Kaen University, Khon Kaen 40002, Thailand.
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Choeisai
Department of Environmental System Engineering, Nagaoka University of Technology, 1603-1 Kamitomioka, Nagaoka 940-2188, Japan.
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Yamaguchi
D000693:Anaerobiosis; D000818:Animals; D001419:Bacteria / Q000378:metabolism*; D057919:Biological Oxygen Demand Analysis; D019149:Bioreactors / Q000382:microbiology*; D006859:Hydrogen; D007220:Industrial Waste / Q000032:analysis*; D008697:Methane; D012408:Rubber; D012722:Sewage / Q000382:microbiology; D014865:Waste Disposal, Fluid; D062065:Wastewater / Q000737:chemistry*; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000737:chemistry
D006859:Hydrogen; D007220:Industrial Waste; D008697:Methane; D012408:Rubber; D012722:Sewage; D062065:Wastewater; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical