Maria Helena Gomes
University of Aveiro, Portugal
Title: Biodegradation of effl uents from wood furniture industry in anaerobic reactors
Biography
Biography: Maria Helena Gomes
Abstract
Wood furniture industry is an important sector of the forest based industries in the EU. Only a few of these industrial plants have wastewater treatment systems despite the potential for energy recovery from this type of wastes through biological processes. The aims of this study were the evaluation of the anaerobic biodegradability of a wastewater from a wood furniture industry in Up-flow Anaerobic Sludge Blanket (UASB) reactor and the establishment of values for operating parameters that lead to the optimization of energy recovery in the form of methane rich biogas. A wastewater from a paint and varnishing booth was used to test several experimental conditions such as organic loading, flow rate and temperature. The assays were performed in UASB reactors with effluent recirculation in a closed system and monitored for methane production and removal of organic matter. Microbial population shifts were also monitored by Fluorescence in situ Hybridization. The anaerobic biodegradability of the wastewater was 68%. The metanization efficiency of the removed Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) reached up to 80% when the optimal conditions were applied: Organic loading rate of 0.67 g COD total/L, flow rate of 0.25 L/h and temperature of 35 °C. This maximum methane production was accompanied by an increase of the relative abundance of Archaea microorganisms responsible for methane production and a relative decrease of the Bacteria microorganisms. A first order kinetic model was used to predict methane production resulting in correlation coefficients above 94% for all the tests performed. It was concluded that anaerobic treatment in UASB reactors is an interesting option for bioenergy recovery from this type of wastewater.