Treatment of palm oil mill effluent (POME) with the Membrane Anaerobic System (MAS)

Citation
A. Fakhru'L-razi et Mjmm. Noor, Treatment of palm oil mill effluent (POME) with the Membrane Anaerobic System (MAS), WATER SCI T, 39(10-11), 1999, pp. 159-163
Citations number
8
Categorie Soggetti
Environment/Ecology
Journal title
WATER SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
ISSN journal
02731223 → ACNP
Volume
39
Issue
10-11
Year of publication
1999
Pages
159 - 163
Database
ISI
SICI code
0273-1223(1999)39:10-11<159:TOPOME>2.0.ZU;2-Q
Abstract
One of the major difficulties in anaerobic wastewater treatment processes i s the need to retain a sufficient quantity of active biomass in the anaerob ic reactor. The use of membranes to achieve external solid/liquid phase sep aration will result in the retention of the biomass at the surface of the m embranes. In this study, the Membrane Anaerobic System (MAS) was used to tr eat industrial wastewater from a palm oil mill. The MAS was subjected to in creasing organic loading rates (OLR) and a total of six steady states were attained. The first steady state influent COD concentration was 39,910 mg/l increasing to the final or sixth steady state COD concentration of 68,310 mg/l. The efficiency of COD removal was between 91.7 to 94.2 percent with a n average HRT of 3.03 days. The maximum OLR applied during the sixth steady state was 21.7 kgCOD/m(3)/d. The reactor mixed liquor suspended solids (ML SS) was between 50,000 to 57,000 mg/l while the percentage of the mixed liq uor volatile suspended solids (MLVSS) was between 74 to 82 percent. A cross flow ultrafiltration (UF) module was used to filter the final effluent and simultaneously retain biomass in the anaerobic reactor. A clear final efflu ent was produced but membrane flux rate deterioration was observed due to m embrane fouling. Membrane fouling could be minimised with faster crossflow feed velocities and regular membrane flushing. (C) 1999 Published by Elsevi er Science Ltd on behalf of the IAWQ. All rights reserved.