Combined anaerobic-aerobic and UV/H2O2 processes for the treatment of synthetic ...

264 Pages·2013·3.7 MB·English

by  Ciro F. Lecompte

Ryerson University
Digital Commons @ Ryerson
Theses and dissertations
1-1-2012
Combined anaerobic-aerobic and UV/H2O2
processes for the treatment of synthetic
slaughterhouse wastewater
Ciro F. Lecompte
Ryerson University
Follow this and additional works at:http://digitalcommons.ryerson.ca/dissertations
Part of theEnvironmental Sciences Commons
Recommended Citation
Lecompte, Ciro F., "Combined anaerobic-aerobic and UV/H2O2 processes for the treatment of synthetic slaughterhouse wastewater"
(2012).Theses and dissertations.Paper 1276.
This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by Digital Commons @ Ryerson. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses and dissertations by
an authorized administrator of Digital Commons @ Ryerson. For more information, please [email protected].
COMBINED ANAEROBIC-AEROBIC AND UV/H O PROCESSES FOR THE
2 2
TREATMENT OF SYNTHETIC SLAUGHTERHOUSE WASTEWATER

by

CIRO FERNANDO BUSTILLO LECOMPTE
B.Eng. in Civil Engineering
University of Cartagena, Cartagena, Colombia, 2008

A Thesis

presented to Ryerson University

in partial fulfilment of the requirements

for the degree of

Master of Applied Science
in the Program of
Environmental Applied Science and Management

Toronto, Ontario, Canada, 2012

© Ciro Fernando Bustillo Lecompte, 2012
AUTHOR’S DECLARATION FOR ELECTRONIC SUBMISSION OF A THESIS

I hereby declare that I am the sole author of this thesis. This is a true copy of the thesis, including any
required final revisions, as accepted by my examiners.

I authorize Ryerson University to lend this thesis to other institutions or individuals for the purpose of
scholarly research.

I further authorize Ryerson University to reproduce this thesis by photocopying or by other means, in
total or in part, at the request of other institutions or individuals for the purpose of scholarly research.

I understand that my thesis may be made electronically available to the public.

ii
ABSTRACT

Combined Anaerobic-Aerobic and UV/H O Processes for the Treatment of Synthetic Slaughterhouse
2 2
Wastewater

Ciro Fernando Bustillo Lecompte
Master of Applied Science
Environmental Applied Science and Management
Ryerson University
2012

The biological treatment of a synthetic slaughterhouse wastewater (SSWW) was studied using an anaerobic
baffled reactor (ABR) and an aerobic activated sludge (AS) at a laboratory scale, with total organic carbon
(TOC) loading rates of 0.03–1.01 g/(L.day), total nitrogen (TN) loading rates of 0.01–0.19 g/(L.day), and a
flow rate of 2.93 to 11.70 mL/min in continuous mode. Results revealed that combined anaerobic-aerobic
processes had higher efficiency to treat SSWW than a single process. Up to 96.36% TOC, 80.53% TN, and
99.38% 5-day carbonaceous biochemical oxygen demand (CBOD ) removal from an influent concentration of
5
1,008.85 mgTOC/L, 419.77 mgTN/L, and 640 mgCBOD /L at the hydraulic retention time (HRT) of 6.24 days
5
and a flow rate of 3.75 mL/min was achieved. The UV/H O process was studied to treat a secondary effluent
2 2
of SSWW with TOC loadings of 64.88–349.84 mg/L. Up to 75.22% TOC and 84.38% CBOD removal were
5
obtained for an influent concentration of 64.88 mgTOC/L at the HRT of 3 h with H O concentration of 900
2 2
mg/L. An optimum molar ratio dosage of 13.87 mgH O /mgTOC was also obtained. Combined anaerobic-
2 2 in
aerobic and UV/H O processes enhanced the biodegradability of the TOC, TN, and CBOD present in the
2 2 5
SSWW. Up to 99.98% TOC, 82.84% TN, and 99.69% CBOD overall removals were obtained for an influent
5
concentration of 1,004.88 mgTOC/L, 200.03 mgTN/L, and 640 mgCBOD /L at the HRT of 4 days and a flow
5
rate of 5.90 mL/min. A cost-effectiveness analysis (CEA) was performed for the optimum conditions for the
SSWW treatment by optimizing total electricity cost and HRT, in which the combined anaerobic-aerobic and
UV/H O processes had an optimal TOC removal of 92.46% at an HRT of 41 h, a cost of $1.25/kg of TOC
2 2
removed, and $11.60/m3 of treated SSWW. This process reaches a maximum TOC removal of 99% in 76.5 h
with an estimated cost of $2.19/kg TOC removed and $21.65/m3 treated SSWW.

Keywords: Synthetic slaughterhouse wastewater (SSWW); anaerobic baffled reactor (ABR); aerobic activated
sludge (AS); UV/H O ; TOC; TN; CBOD ; combined processes.
2 2 5
iii
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I would like to express my sincere gratitude to my supervisor, Dr. Mehrab Mehrvar, of the
Department of Chemical Engineering at Ryerson University, for his guidance, assistance, and
financial support throughout the successful completion of this research.

I would also like to acknowledge Dr. Lynda McCarthy and Dr. Ronald Pushchak, whose
comments, advices and suggestions immensely benefitted this research; Dr. Michael Bardecki, Elias
Chu, Isabella Fernandes, and Alison MacLeod, Ryerson University staff, for their support and
guidance during my studies; Ali Hemmati, Daniel Boothe, and Tondar Tajrobehkar, Engineering
Technologists of the Department of Chemical Engineering, for their technical support and assistance
on my experimental setup and further experiments; Ashbridges Bay Wastewater Treatment Plant for
providing the anaerobic and aerobic activated sludge essential for the processes used in this research;
Adriana Gaona, Dinesh Patel, Masroor Mohajerani, Samira Ghafoori, Mauricio Barrera, and Weihua
Cao for many times of enlightenment and entertainment, as well as their help in troubleshooting,
support and advice.

The financial support of Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada
(NSERC) and Ryerson University is greatly appreciated.

Finally yet importantly, I would like to thank the professors of the University of Cartagena as
follows: Dr. Edgar Quiñones, for his unconditional help and guidance; Monica Eljaiek, Dalia Moreno,
Raul Guerrero Torres, Dr. Alfonso Arrieta and Dr. Javier Mouthon, whose advice and encouragement
helped me to become a better person and professional. I would also like to show appreciation to my
friends, mainly to Daisy, Juan Felipe, Maria Clara, Sylvia, Eder, Andrea, and Cinthia; my cousins
Gustavo, Lucila, Lucy and David; my aunts and uncles; and my beloved mother, Candelaria, and my
brother, Carlos, for their love, guidance, patience, understanding, sacrifice and invaluable support
throughout my graduate studies. I also offer regards and greetings to all those who supported me in
any way during the completion of this research and whose names were not mentioned.
iv
TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page
AUTHOR’S DECLARATION FOR ELECTRONIC SUBMISSION OF A THESIS .......................... ii
ABSTRACT .......................................................................................................................................... iii
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ..................................................................................................................... iv
TABLE OF CONTENTS ........................................................................................................................v
LIST OF TABLES ................................................................................................................................. ix
LIST OF FIGURES ............................................................................................................................... xi
NOMENCLATURE ........................................................................................................................... xvii
CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION .............................................................................................................1
Objectives ............................................................................................................................................3
CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW ..................................................................................................4
2.1. Introduction ...................................................................................................................................4
2.2. Slaughterhouse wastewater characteristics ...................................................................................4
2.2.1. Slaughterhouse wastewater occurrence ..................................................................................5
2.2.2. Slaughterhouse wastewater guidelines and regulations .......................................................14
2.2.3. Environmental impacts .........................................................................................................16
2.2.4. Health effects ........................................................................................................................20
2.3. Slaughterhouse wastewater treatment technologies ....................................................................22
2.3.1. Anaerobic biological treatment ............................................................................................25
2.3.2. Aerobic biological treatment ................................................................................................26
2.3.3. Combined anaerobic-aerobic biological treatment ..............................................................26
2.3.4. Biological modeling .............................................................................................................28
2.3.5. Nitrification and denitrification ............................................................................................33
2.3.6. Advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) ................................................................................35
2.3.7. UV/H O process ..................................................................................................................38
2 2
v
2.4. Need for combined biological treatment and advanced oxidation processes .............................45
2.5. Concluding remarks ....................................................................................................................52
CHAPTER 3 MATERIALS AND METHODS ....................................................................................53
3.1. Introduction .................................................................................................................................53
3.2. Materials .....................................................................................................................................53
3.2.1. Synthetic slaughterhouse wastewater (SSWW) ...................................................................53
3.2.2. Anaerobic and aerobic inoculum ..........................................................................................54
3.3. Experimental setup ......................................................................................................................55
3.4. Experimental procedure ..............................................................................................................58
3.4.1. Acclimatization of the inoculum ..........................................................................................58
3.4.2. ABR process .........................................................................................................................67
3.4.3. Aerobic AS process ..............................................................................................................67
3.4.3. UV/H O process ..................................................................................................................68
2 2
3.4.4. Combined anaerobic-aerobic processes ...............................................................................69
3.4.5. Combined aerobic-anaerobic processes ...............................................................................69
3.4.6. Combined anaerobic-aerobic and UV/H O processes ........................................................71
2 2
3.5. Analytical techniques ..................................................................................................................72
3.5.1. Dissolved oxygen (DO) ........................................................................................................72
3.5.2. Temperature and pH .............................................................................................................72
3.5.3. Total suspended solids (TSS), volatile suspended solids (VSS), mixed liquor suspended
solids (MLSS), and mixed liquor volatile suspended solids (MLVSS) .........................................73
3.5.4. Total organic carbon (TOC) and total nitrogen (TN) ...........................................................74
3.5.5. 5-day carbonaceous biochemical oxygen demand (CBOD ) ...............................................77
5
CHAPTER 4 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION .....................................................................................79
4.1. Introduction .................................................................................................................................79
4.2. Common characteristics of the synthetic slaughterhouse wastewater (SSWW) ........................79
4.2.1. Reynolds number ..................................................................................................................79
vi
4.2.2. Dissolved oxygen (DO) ........................................................................................................79
4.2.3. Temperature and pH .............................................................................................................81
4.2.4. TSS and VSS concentrations of the anaerobic sludge and MLSS and MLVSS
concentrations of the aerobic sludge ..............................................................................................84
4.2.5. TSS and VSS concentrations of the SSWW ........................................................................85
4.3. TOC and TN removal in SSWW using individual anaerobic and aerobic processes .................90
4.4. TOC and TN removal in SSWW using combined anaerobic-aerobic systems ..........................91
4.4.1. TOC and TN removal in SSWW using combined anaerobic-aerobic processes .................91
4.4.2. TOC and TN removal in SSWW using combined aerobic-anaerobic processes .................98
4.4.3. TOC and TN removal in SSWW using combined anaerobic-aerobic processes with
recycling .........................................................................................................................................98
4.5. TOC and TN removal in SSWW using UV/H O process alone ..............................................103
2 2
4.5.1. Dark experiments ...............................................................................................................112
4.5.2. Optimal H O dosage and molar ratio of [H O ]/[TOC] for the UV/H O process ...........112
2 2 2 2 2 2
4.6. TOC and TN removal in SSWW using combined anaerobic-aerobic and UV/H O processes
2 2
..........................................................................................................................................................115
4.7. CBOD removal in SSWW using ABR alone, aerobic AS alone, UV/H O alone, and
5 2 2
combined processes .........................................................................................................................126
4.8. Cost-effectiveness analysis (CEA) to determine the best alternative on SSWW treatment by
optimizing total electricity cost and HRT ........................................................................................130
4.8.1. Kinetic modeling for the ABR alone ..................................................................................130
4.8.2. Kinetic modeling for the aerobic AS alone ........................................................................133
4.8.3. Kinetic modeling for the combined anaerobic-aerobic processes ......................................135
4.8.3. Kinetic modeling for the UV/H O process alone .............................................................138
2 2
4.8.4. Kinetic modeling for the combined anaerobic-aerobic and UV/H O processes ...............142
2 2
4.8.5. Optimization of the total electricity cost and HRT to determine the best alternative on
SSWW treatment ..........................................................................................................................145
CHAPTER 5 CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS ........................................................162
vii
5.1. Conclusions ...............................................................................................................................162
5.2. Recommendations .....................................................................................................................165
APPENDICES .....................................................................................................................................166
Appendix A. Determination of theoretical TOC and TN of the SSWW .............................................166
Appendix B. Determination of the Reynolds number .........................................................................168
Appendix C. Determination of TSS and VSS .....................................................................................170
Appendix D. Sample standard deviation and relative error analysis ...................................................170
Appendix E. Raw data .........................................................................................................................172
REFERENCES ....................................................................................................................................218

viii
LIST OF TABLES

Page
Table 2.1. Characteristics of slaughterhouse wastewater. .......................................................................5
Table 2.2. Fresh water consumption in different sectors of the US food and beverage manufacturing..6
Table 2.3. Provincially licensed meat plants in Ontario. .........................................................................8
Table 2.4. Comparison of different standards for slaughterhouse wastewater discharge. ....................15
Table 2.5. Methods used for analyzing various slaughterhouse wastewater parameters. .....................16
Table 2.6. US EPA effluent limitations for the meat and poultry products. .........................................17
Table 2.7. Effluent levels for meat processing. .....................................................................................20
Table 2.8. Recommendations for wastewater discharges from federal facilities. .................................21
Table 2.9. Summary of current technologies used in MPP facilities for the treatment of the
slaughterhouse wastewater. ..........................................................................................................24
Table 2.10. Comparison of anaerobic and aerobic wastewater treatment technologies. .......................26
Table 2.11. Main parameters for biological treatment. .........................................................................28
Table 2.12. Standard electrode potential of selected oxidant species. ..................................................36
Table 2.13. Electromagnetic spectrum of ultraviolet light. ...................................................................38
Table 2.14. Common reaction mechanisms in UV/H O processes. .....................................................39
2 2
Table 2.15. Anaerobic–aerobic and UV/H O systems for the treatment of wastewater. .....................47
2 2
Table 3.1. Synthetic slaughterhouse wastewater recipe. .......................................................................54
Table 3.2. Components of the meat extract powder provided by the manufacturer (Oxoid Ltd.) ........54
Table 4.1. Maximum and minimum of SSWW pH values during acclimatization of sludge and
experiments. .................................................................................................................................81
Table 4.2. Maximum and minimum SSWW temperature values. .........................................................84
Table 4.3. TSS profiles of the SSWW in the ABR and the aerobic AS. ...............................................85
Table 4.4. VSS profiles of the SSWW in the ABR and the aerobic AS. ...............................................90
Table 4.5. TOC and TN values during dark experiments using different UV/H O concentrations. ..112
2 2
Table 4.6. Technical conditions of the processes for the economic study ..........................................145
Table 4.7. Electric power and costs of electricity and H O . ..............................................................146
2 2
Table 4.8. Calculated values of the electricity cost per mass TOC removed for the ABR process alone.
....................................................................................................................................................147
ix