SOLID-LIQUID SEPARATION IN WASTE-WATER FR OM A BARLEY SHOCHU DISTILLERY USING GEOTRICHUM SP M111 AND TREATMENT OF THE LIQUID COMPONENT WITHHANSENULA-ANOMALA AND ACTIVATED-SLUDGE

A method was developed for the treatment of wastewater discharged from a barley shochu distillery with yeast. First, solid-liquid separation of the distillery wastewater was effectively achieved by adding cellu lose powder or residue from a citric acid fermentation process and Geo trichum sp. M111 cells, which possess the ability to accelerate the ag gregation of insoluble solids in wastewater. The solid concentration w as lowered to 0.33% from 2.95% by this solid-liquid separation procedu re. The wastewater supernatant was a suitable medium for Mill, which s howed a good yield when cultured in 2-fold-diluted supernatant (1.6 x 10(8) cells/ml medium). This yield was equivalent to that in YPD mediu m (1.2 x 10(8) cells/ml medium). The filtrate was treated with the was te-treatment yeast strain, Hansenula anomala J45-0, as a result of whi ch 63% of the BOD was removed. Yeast cells remaining in the treated fi ltrate were digested by the yeast-lytic bacterium Rarobacter faecitabi dus, which has lytic ability against strain J45-0. The wastewater trea ted with R. faecitabidus was diluted ca. 5-fold with tap water and sub jected to activated sludge treatment. The BOD concentrations in the tr eated wastewater were reduced to less than 80 mg/l at volumetric BOD l oading rates of 0.4-0.6g/l.d.